


Cymothoa Exigua

by DisgustingCrabThing



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Adopted Midoriya Izuku, Angst, BAMF Yaoyorozu Momo, Bakugo Katsuki is a Good Brother, F/F, Female Iida Tenya, Female Midoriya Izuku, Female Todoroki Shouto, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Many Students Have Minor Altpowers, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Minor Worm Crossover, Minor Worm Elements, Multiple Minor AU Elements, Mute Midoriya Izuku, OP Yaoyorozu Momo, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Scary Yaoyorozu Momo, Siren Midoriya Izuku, mermaid midoriya izuku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24470278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisgustingCrabThing/pseuds/DisgustingCrabThing
Summary: Momo had fully planned her life.She would be tutored to be a hero.She would attend the most prodigious hero academy.She would become a hero.She hadn't expected the impact her classmates would have on her.She didn't expect the effect a certain shy girl with a mermaid quirk would have on her.***A Female Midoriya/Yaoyorozu Momo fanfic with plenty of minor AU elements and small Worm inclusions. My attempt at a more romantic fic.This is mostly a MHA fic, requiring no real knowledge of Worm.***Next Chapter Update (25/01/2021): This fic is back from hiatus, and the next chapter should be early next month***TRIGGER WARNINGS:Graphic Violence.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku/Yaoyorozu Momo
Comments: 136
Kudos: 219





	1. The Day

“Yaoyorozu-sama, it is time to wake up.”

The words of Momo’s maid would have been what woke her up, if not for the fact that she had been awake for hours, waiting in anticipation.

Because today was a special day.

Today she would be properly becoming a hero. It would be the beginning of her formal hero training at the most prestigious hero school in the country.

UA High School!

AHHHHHHH! She was so excited!

Today would be her first day at a real school! She would be able to have classmates for the first time. She may be able to make some friends outside of social events.

It was all so very new and exciting.

She called out to her maid. “Oba-san! Could you please draw a bath?” While she was waiting for it to run, she went into her walk-in wardrobe. She walked past the hanging dresses and designer shirts towards where her uniform hung. Perhaps it would be wise to move them closer to the front, so she didn’t have to walk so much. She grabbed her readied uniform.

She walked into her bathroom to find the bath filled with steaming hot water. After washing herself, she dressed and went to the dining room.

Laying on the table was a large variety of meals, prepared by the Yaoyorozu cooking staff. Due to her quirk, she needed to eat large amounts of food, especially if she had actively been using Creation. Considering she was going to be learning at a heroics school, she would need her stores refilled more often. Sitting across from the table was Oba-san, eating a far smaller and simpler meal.

“Will Mother and Father be present tonight?” Momo asked her maid, cautiously optimistic.

“I am afraid not, Yaoyorozu-sama. Master and Mistress Yaoyorozu will be absent for the entire week.”

There was an uncomfortable silence. As much as Momo knew how busy her parents were, and what an important job they did, she wished they could have been there. Today was such an important day for her, yet they weren’t even around to witness it.

“Don’t worry about it, I am sure you will do spectacularly. You’ve done well in both your academics and your heroics training. You have a wonderful personality and are the epitome of beauty.” Oba-san gave her a fond and reassuring smile. “There is no doubt you will be extremely popular.”

Momo began to blush, her maid was far too kind.

Oba-san had a severe face, spectacles covered her eyes and luscious curly black hair framed her face. While she didn’t wear makeup or try to look anything but professional, she took very special care of her hair. She was tall, taller than Momo, and had a thin frame. Despite this apparent frailness, Momo knew that under the maid’s uniform lay deceptive strength.

“If you need me, I will be packing your bag. After you are done, meet me in the limousine.” Oba-san smiled politely and bowed her head, leaving Momo alone.

She finished her meal, thanked the chef’s, then entered the vehicle. Her maid was sitting there, talking to someone on her phone and doing something on her laptop. Momo opened her bag, finding everything neatly organised, before grabbing a book. She opened it to the bookmarked page, then began to read.

“What are you reading Yaoyorozu-sama?” Oba-san must have finished what she was working on, while Momo was reading.

She looked up from her book. “It’s from the same author as that encyclopedia you recommended me.” She closed the book, showing her maid the cover. “’ _A Toxicological Overview of World Flora.’_ Did you know that there is a tree in Australia called the ‘ _Dendrocnide moroides’_ or the ‘ _Gympie Gympie’_ that has an incredibly painful sting that can last for hours? Apparently, it hurts so much that people stung often kill themselves, giving it the colloquial name ‘ _The Suicide Plant.’_

Oba-san hummed at the knowledge. “That could be a useful chemical to synthesise, though you would have to be very careful with it. See whether or not it can knock people unconscious, it may serve as an apt replacement for bullet ant venom.

“Those were my thoughts exactly.”

“That is good, it means I have taught you well.”

They continued their light conversation until, eventually, the vehicle pulled up to the shining gates of UA High School.

The school was just as impressive in person as it was in pictures, if not more so. Checking her watch, Momo saw it was 7:00 am, exactly the time the school opened, according to her acceptance letter. She was perfectly on time. Confirmation of this was given by the gates beginning to open.

She grabbed her bag, preparing to leave, only to hear her maid’s voice.

“I know I’m not your parents, but for whatever it is worth, it makes me happy to see how you’ve grown, making it into such a prodigious school.”

“But it was through yo-”

She was interrupted before she could fully object.

“You passed the written test with flying colours. You managed to place second in a grouping of the best of the best, only losing to an incredibly powerful aerokinetic. You deserve this.”

“Now, do you have your phone fully charged?”

Momo nodded in response.

“Good. Remember, if you are ever in trouble, call me, I’ll solve the problem.” She said it with such certainty that Momo instantly believed her. “Also, feel free to tell me about anything about school, _especially anything bad.”_

She patted Momo’s back. “Don’t forget to have fun and make friends.”

Reassured, Momo walked to her class.

When she stepped through the gate, all of it suddenly felt so real. She was going to be a hero, a _real hero_.

She manoeuvred through the building, following the map directions that she had memorised. Eventually, she stood in front of a giant door. She opened it, anticipation built up within her.

To see an empty classroom.

Why wasn’t anyone here?

She checked her watch, 7:10 am. It was a whole 10 minutes past the time the school opened. Surely the classroom should be full of students, eagerly waiting to be educated. Why would a student not be at school for as long as possible?

Deciding to just accept it for now and ask either Oba-san or a classmate later, she looked around the classroom.

She had always read about these things, but had trouble visualising them. To her, a classroom is the table in the Yaoyorozu Library, surrounded by books and being taught by Oba-san or one of her other tutors. So to finally put images to words, to see these things in person, was exciting.

The desks were so strange, made of some type of plastic, with a wooden stand. There was no storage inside them at all! And the whiteboard was very traditional. She wondered what the chemicals used in the ink and surface were. She had never properly researched that.

She had to physically calm herself down.

She got to her seat, the seat furthest back and to the left, according to her letter. She got out her book and patiently read. Just doing that was making her practically buzz with excitement.

Sure, she was just sitting on a desk in an empty classroom, but she was in UA! All the training she had done had paid off. Now she would be able to actually do something good in the world.

It took a while for anyone to arrive. Eventually, a familiar head of dark blue hair entered the room.

“Iida-san, it is good to see you.” Momo greeted the girl.

She knew Iida from heroics events that she had been to with her parents. Iida was normally sticking around her older brother, Turbo Hero: Engenium. They had occasionally conversed in these events, enough so that Momo considered her an acquaintance.

She had a similar body type to Momo’s maid, except with more obvious muscles. Beside her waist-length and incredibly straight blue hair, they looked quite alike. And the large exhaust pipes on her arms. They were quite large, three bent pipes on top of each of her arms and one on the side. Momo knew she could move and manipulate them, unlike her brother.

“Greetings Yaoyorozu-san! Congratulations on your recommendation and entrance into this fine academy. I applaud your punctuality, how long have you been here?”

“Over an hour, by now.”

“Impressive, as expected from the Yaoyorozu heiress.”

Was that really so impressive?

It seemed that once Iida had entered the class, a floodgate had opened. The frequency of new classmates increased. They came in all shapes and sizes, with some looking normal and others having blatant mutant aspects.

One person to catch her attention was the short girl who stood behind a tall boy with spiky blond hair. She had an obvious transformation quirk, her body constantly shifting colour, her eyes having a strange w shaped pupil, and tentacles that took the place of her legs. Some sort of octopus quirk. Momo vaguely recalled someone like her in the recommendations exam, but she couldn’t see her while taking the practical. There was another girl with a shark quirk that participated in the practical, though.

She watched as the girl sat down in her seat, the blond in front of her leaning back in his chair, back to her seat, with his feet up on the desk.

Momo didn’t think that was allowed. Why was he sitting like that anyway? Seats were designed to be sat in with back straight and feet flat on the ground. That was what she had been taught, anyway.

Oh good. Iida had come to scold the boy. The blond looked like he was going to argue before the octopus girl tapped his shoulder. Momo thought she would say something, but instead, she waved her hands in strange gestures.

Sign language.

_Was she mute?_

Surprisingly, considering how angry the blond was, he put down his legs and sat up properly. Iida smiled and thanked him, but before she could return to her seat, a bell rang, then a voice spoke from the door.

“If you’re here to socialise, then get out.”

Momo tried to see who was speaking, but all she saw was something bright yellow on the floor, by the door.

“This is...” The voice paused, and a loud sucking noise could be heard. “The Hero Course.”

She didn’t know what to think. What was happening?

A yellow shape wriggled its way through the door, before standing up. The yellow covering, which looked like some sort of polyester material, dropped to reveal a man in a black bodysuit.

What a strange sight.

The man, their teacher, Aizawa Shota had told them to get into their gym uniforms. They had all gone to the changing rooms, which was another interesting experience. All the females had gathered and gotten changed. Momo would have thought she would be self conscious, not being used to changing surrounded by people, but she wasn’t. Oba-san’s training had stamped that out of her. A necessity for a quirk like Momo’s, she had always said.

As she looked at the other girls, she noted the sheer variety of people, but also the absence of a certain girl. The octopus girl had immediately gone into one of the nearby stalls to get changed. Momo guessed that not everyone was as confident in their own body, especially considering she was a mutant type. When she exited, Momo noticed she was looking quite uncomfortable, her tentacles squished into track shorts.

At the athletics field, Aizawa-sensei explained their test, apparently similar to athletics events at regular schools. He handed the blond boy a ball.

“Bakugo Katsuki, you got the highest score in the entrance exam. What did you get on your softball throw in junior-high?”

Bakugo paused for a second, remembering, before the octopus girl waved her hands around again.

“Sixty-seven metres, thank you Midoriya. Now, try using your quirk on this throw but remain in the circle. Be sure to remember that this is one test out of many.”

Bakugo smiled, stretched, then got into the appropriate pose. He then exploded into motion. Momo noticed that just before he let go of the ball, his finger turned to a colourless liquid, before igniting.

Aizawa looked unphased by the explosion, and the resulting surge of light. He held up a device.

1,576.3m.

“It’s important for us to know our limits. That’s the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you’ll be.”

Wow. She looked back to Bakugo, and noticed his finger was missing. She was going to ask if he was alright before his entire arm turned into that colourless liquid. Considering the explosion it had made, and the telltale burnt sugar smell, it was probably nitroglycerin. The nitroglycerin flowed into the empty space made by the absence of the finger, healing Bakugo.

Momo noticed someone else watching Bakugo, a girl with long red hair that had occasional streaks of white in it. Unlike Momo’s analytical gaze, she was giving him a glare that looked like it would set Bakugo on fire.

Someone managed to annoy Aizawa-sensei, so he threatened to expel the person who placed last.

Momo was going to completely dismiss this as an empty threat, but something stopped her.

He gave off the same feeling that Oba-san did. That utter surety in the statement. It was the same.

Why?

Either way, she would try her best.

The first event was the fifty-metre dash.

Iida performed relatively well. Even though her quirk wasn’t as focused on pure speed as her brother’s was, she could still be quite fast. She got a score of 4.16 seconds, using her pipes to push her forward, with the side effect of emitting enormous flames.

She watched as a blond with a black streak seemed to charge up a yellow energy at his feet, which launched him with an explosion of electricity once the race started. Another boy with opaque white skin unravelled into strands of what looked like tape, speeding forward.

Out of nowhere, she could hear a loud voice shouting behind her.

“ _Sero Hanta, his quirk: Mummy! He can unravel himself into an adhesive tape! This tape has a mild corrosive effect, so it sticks and it stings! However, if he uses it too much without rewrapping himself, his tape loses its stick!”_

Momo turned around to see Voice Hero: Present Mic being scolded by Aizawa-sensei.

“Why are you even here, Mic? Don’t you have an assembly to be at? And a class?”

“But those assemblies are _so boring,_ and you’re not there to make things fun. So... I just slipped out and found you torturing your students.”

Aizawa-sensei just sighed in defeat. Was that friendship? Momo wasn’t sure. So she returned to watching the other classmates.

A girl with a bob of brown hair completed her lap by falling sideways through the air, getting a time of 3.19 seconds.

“ _Uraraka Ochako, her quirk: Freefall! She can change the direction that she falls! This effect works on anything she touches, as long as it isn’t bolted to the ground! Her quirk can only work in one direction at a time, so if her enemies are flying, so is she!_

The next race had that redheaded girl, who launched herself towards the finish line at great speed, leaving a giant line of fire in her wake. It had looked like she was actually riding the fire, somehow.

“ _Todoroki Shouko, her quirk: Razor Flames! She can create and control fire, which can be as cool as room temperature or rise to intense heats! She can also make these flames solid, forming literal walls of flame!”_

_Todoroki._

Wasn’t that the name of Endeavor’s family?

From what she knew he only had a single child, a son a couple of years younger than herself. She had met the boy, who was polite, if a bit distant.

It was strange to ponder, but Momo had no time to do that. Her turn was approaching, so she needed to prepare her quirk. She had a couple of minutes until then, so she could do something relatively complex. She set up a privacy screen for herself, then opened up enough skin area for her creation. Out of her chest, a motorcycle emerged, one which she had carefully picked based on its high rate of acceleration. It was fully formed just as her name was called.

As she rolled the vehicle out to the starting line, she noticed her classmates staring in awe. She smiled, it was nice to feel strong. She hopped on the motorcycle, then turned on the engine, preparing for the race.

A signal went off and she accelerated, crossing the line with an impressive score. While she was getting off, she noticed that the lane beside her had filled with darkness, which shrunk down into the shape of a girl.

“ _Hagakure Tooru, her quirk: Dark Void! Surrounding her body is a special field that absorbs all light that makes contact with it! Usually, it just covers her skin, but she can change its size and shape at will! By inverting the field, she can release all the light she absorbed!”_

The last pair to race was Bakugo and Midoriya, except Midoriya looked different. If she had been an octopus girl before, now she was a shark girl, just like in the practical exam. She didn't beat Bakugo, who had launched off like a rocket, but she did get a good score.

“ _Midoriya Izumi, her quirk: Siren! She can transform into humanlike sea creatures! While transformed she has their qualities! Even though she can turn into any water breathing sea animal, it takes time for her to switch! It’s easier just to change between different species in the same genus!_

_Bakugo Katsuki, his quirk: Explosions! He can change any part of his body into a nitroglycerin-like substance, which he can ignite at will! By transforming, he can heal his own wounds. If he uses too much mass, he has to eat tonnes of food to regain it!”_

The next event was testing grip strength. Momo debated creating a hydraulic press, but then had a different idea. She held the device in her hand, positioning it so her weight would be pressing down on it. Then she focused on her fat, shifting her telekinetic grip on it. Now, instead of being weightless, it was pushing downwards as much as possible.

**_Crack!_ **

All eyes were on her. She looked down to see the machine crushed into dust under her hand.

_That wasn't supposed to happen._

Eventually, the class stopped staring and returned to their own grip tests. Momo noticed that both Shoji, with his six arms, and Midoriya, now transformed into a crab form, had gotten high scores.

Though nowhere as high as Momo's infinity score.

Next was standing long jump, which Momo excelled at due to the jetpack she made. Aizawa-sensei had eventually gotten tired of waiting for her to get down, so Momo got another infinity score.

In sidestepping, she mimicked what her classmate Mineta did, creating bouncy material to assist. That in addition to her telekinetic control of her fat got her second place.

At the softball throw, Hagakure asked a question. "How do these things track our score?"

"Satellite tracking."

Hagakure's voice was incredibly chipper after that reply. "In that case…." The darkness that surrounded her body grew to cover the ball. "What does it read now?"

"Infinity." Aizawa-sensei sounded impressed. "Good job, you can keep that score."

Hagakure skipped out of the circle, whistling a jaunty tune.

When it was Momo's turn to go, she created a short ranged electromagnetic pulse emitter, which knocked out the ball's tracker, giving Momo her third infinity score.

Kaminari was next. "What sucks is that I have an electric quirk, yet I haven't figured out how to do EMPs yet. Oh well, railgun approach it is." Like in the fifty-metre dash, a yellow glow surrounded his hand. Suddenly, with a large crack, the ball shot off at an impressive speed.

Just after Kaminari, it was Midoriya’s turn. The girl had turned into a shrimp with large claws. She used some sort of air pressure to launch the ball.

Why was she focusing on Midoriya so much?

Perhaps she wanted to befriend the girl?

Yes.

That must be it.

She couldn't think of any other reasons.

All she had to do was go up to Midoriya and ask if they could do something together.

Three more events passed and she still hadn't done it.

The expulsion threat was just misdirection, apparently. But Momo knew he hadn't been lying before, so something must have changed. Momo was happy to see that she got first place, followed by Bakugo, Midoriya, Todoroki and Iida.

Momo could feel Todoroki’s glare on her the entire way back. When she turned to see Todoroki, her face was blank. But those eyes. It felt like her eyes wished death upon Momo.

She shivered, before deciding to distract herself by talking to Midoriya.

Only to find the girl had vanished, already in the changing room.

She needed to try harder.

They were changing, when she heard a loud explosion from the boys’ changing room. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a purple haired girl with elongated earlobes cringe in pain. She quickly got changed and looked outside the door.

Bakugo had Mineta held up by the neck, pressed up against the wall. Small explosions crackled in his other hand.

“What the _fuck_ were you trying to pull, _Grape Fuck?_ Trying to peep on the girls, like that’s fucking _acceptable?_ Not on my watch, asshole. Try that shit again, on Hime-chan or any of the other girls, and I will fucking blast you through the door of the Principal and demand you be expelled.”

Mineta seemed to have no sense of self preservation. “Ooooh, nicknames huh? You dating fishgirl?”

In reply, Bakugo slammed him into the wall. “She’s my fucking sister, you sick fuck. And if you call her anything but her name, I’ll blast you into smithereens.” There was a malicious certainty in his voice, as if he was just daring Mineta to try him.

Mineta said nothing else.

Done talking to him, Bakugo threw Mineta back into the changing room.

“The same goes for all of you fuckers!”

He slammed the door, then turned back to Momo.

“Sorry ‘bout that.”

He walked towards their homeroom, and happened to cross the door to the girl’s changing room. He knocked on the door, but looked away from it.

“If any of you have any problems, just come to me. I’ll fuck up whoever needs fucking up.” He shouted towards the door, before continuing back to class.

So he was Midoriya’s _brother_ , apparently.

Momo didn’t know why, but that made her feel happy inside.

She waited outside, until Midoriya came out.

“Hello, Midoriya-san! My name is Yaoyorozu Momo. It is a pleasure to meet you!” Momo held out her hand for a handshake, as she had been taught in her etiquette lessons.

The girl looked confused at her outstretched hand, but ultimately took it. Her skin was a strange texture, more rough than usual, but the warmth was nice. She didn’t say anything for a while, which reminded Momo of something.

“Oh yes! You are mute, aren’t you? Obviously you are not deaf, because you’ve been hearing me, so why are you mute?” Momo stopped her tirade, realising what she had just said. “Oh sorry, I meant that academically.”

Midoriya just stood there and nodded. She grabbed something from her pocket and began writing on it.

A notebook! Smart!

Midoriya showed her the page. _[Don’t worry about it, it’s because of my quirk. I won’t say anything besides that. Or anything at all. Ha. Accidental pun. Anyway, your quirk is really cool! It's some sort of creation quirk, but you were also able to move faster than expected and managed to smash that grip tester.]_

Momo practically squealed with joy. Another person who is interested in quirks! She knew she chose well!

“My quirk is called Creation. I can telekinetically control my fat molecules, to such a degree that I can use them to make anything non-living, as long as I know how it’s made to a molecular level.”

They continued their conversation, discussing the different quirks in their class. At some point, they had gotten to their class and grabbed their bags. Bakugo joined them, staying quiet and hanging a metre behind them.

As they got to the courtyard, Momo remembered what she had been wanting to ask.

“Do you want to be my friend?”

Midoriya stopped, looking shocked.

Had Momo offended her?

Before she could worry further, Midoriya smiled a bright and brilliant smile.

She nodded.

_She nodded!_

“In that case do you want to hang out at some point? We could do something now!”

Midoriya faltered for a second, and was about to write something, before Bakugo put a hand on her book. She frowned towards her brother, before being relieved at the reassuring look on his face.

“She’s got an appointment today, so she’s busy.”

Oh. That was a shame.

“But she’d be happy to do something this weekend.”

Midoriya looked at him accusingly, but didn’t try to do anything to object.

He opened his hand, expectantly.

“Phone.” It was a command, not a request.

“Why would I-” Momo was offended and confused.

“So I can put in her and my number, so you can organise your shit. Now, _phone.”_

Reluctantly, Momo did as he wished, unlocking it before giving it to him. He fiddled with it for a couple of seconds, before handing it back. Momo looked at what he had done, finding a contact called ~Midoriya Izumi~ on the top of her list, with ~Midoriya’s Brother – Contact Only When Necessary~ just below.

As she looked up, she could see Bakugo shooing Midoriya away. “Start heading home, I’ll follow after. I need to talk to Ponytail privately.” Midoriya pouted, but turned around.

A warm hand suddenly gripped Momo’s shoulder.

“Listen here, Ponytail. I’m gonna say this once and once only. I have nothing against you being friends with my little sister. In fact, she needs friends. But I swear, you better be the best damn friend you can be, because if you hurt her, I will hurt _you._ Hime-chan is very special to me, and I won’t let her down.”

Bakugo looked directly into her eyes, his own eyes full of determination.

Momo matched his stare with equal intensity.

“Then I promise you I will, on the Yaoyorozu name.”

He seemed to be satisfied by that response, and was about to let her go before a voice sounded from behind her.

“Yaoyorozu-sama, is this boy bothering you? _Does he need to be dealt with?”_

There was a buzzing in the air, a noise that resonated with her very bone, only slightly audible to her ears.

Bakugo had completely frozen, eyes avoiding the figure behind her.

“No Oba-san, everything is fine. We were just having a little chat.”

She turned around, Bakugo’s hand posing no barrier to her movement. She walked towards her maid.

“See you tomorrow, Bakugo-san.”

She walked to the limousine, where Oba-san was waiting.

“I made new friends today.”

The stern expression that had been on her face melted away into a smile.

“Oh? Please tell me more.”

So Momo did.

“Oh yes, that reminds me, can you get someone to teach me Sign Language?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new fic idea that I wrote while having authors block on Walking Corpse. I've been intending to write something like this for quite a while, so this is an actual fic that will be updating, unlike Nact Und Nabel.
> 
> To completely new readers: Welcome!
> 
> This chapter somehow managed to be far more than I usually write per chapter, over double if I recall. This probably won't be a normal thing, so expect chapters to be around 2k long.
> 
> You'll notice there are a bunch of minor and major Au elements, which will continue throughout the fic. Also you'll notice Oba-san, Momo's maid, is taking a major role. Do not worry, she is not an OC, but a Expy. To be precise, a character from another world literally brought to MHA. But don't worry, her identity will be revealed soonish. I try not to use OC's, the closest being those necessary for the plot (The fifth Todoroki child) or those implied to exist but haven't actually been in canon (Momo's parents).
> 
> Anyway, wall of text over, thanks for reading and hope you enjoy.  
> Here is a discord I have adopted, which the equivalent of an author's discord. It's actually Golden Gecko's, but I'm there often. https://discord.gg/9JkK4ry
> 
> Please comment and give me any criticism you have!


	2. Launchpad McQuack

It was the next day and Momo was once again sitting in her classroom, except this time she hadn’t been waiting alone for over an hour. Apparently it was usual practice to arrive at school a short time before the classes started, not from the instant the school opened. When she had asked Oba-san about it, after a bout of uncharacteristic awkwardness, she had told Momo that much. It had surprised and embarrassed the girl, she couldn’t fully understand why, but she guessed it would come with time.

Currently, she was waiting for her new friend to arrive. Unfortunately, Momo noted, it seemed that Midoriya and Bakugo were the type of people to get to class only minutes before the bell. Momo was about to return to her book, but then the door opened. She saw telltale bomb-shaped blond hair poke out from the hallway.

Excited, she stood up to greet her friend.

_ <Good morning, Midoriya.> _

Behind Bakugo, Midoriya stopped, stepping back in shock. Her hands moved to her mouth, a wide-eyed look on her face. Then her hands were back in front of her, moving in fast motions. It was only with Momo’s trained eyes and the crammed lessons from yesterday that she could make sense of it.

_ <I didn’t know you could sign,  _ **_??????_ ** _ > _ Midoriya signed back to Momo, though she didn’t recognise that last series of signs.

“I’m learning.” Momo tries to sign while she speaks, though she leaves blanks for words she doesn’t know. “I thought it could be useful to learn, especially if I want to be your friend. So after school I began studying. ”

_ <You started yesterday!?  _ **_???_ ** _ , that is very  _ **_??????_ ** _!> _

Momo was going to ask what those words meant, but she felt a sudden shiver down her spine. Something she noticed subconsciously.

Aizawa-sensei was coming.

Quickly, she dragged Midoriya to the back of the class, Midoriya’s desk in front of hers. She sat the flustered girl down, just in time to see their teacher walk inside.

Now they could learn.

Today was their first proper day of school. Momo’s first real school day!

***

Being taught by a teacher in a classroom of twenty students was…  _ different. _ She was used to the comfortable silence of the library, the stable voice of Oba-san, the comforting feel of books. 

But this class was a whole different experience.

Unlike her other tutors, predominantly Oba-san and the other professional scholars that had been charged with her education, the teachers at UA had  _ flair? _ Was that the correct term? They were each so obviously unique in how they taught their classes. Present Mic had that overenthusiastic excitement over everything he said. Midnight moved around the classroom strangely, deliberate yet unpredictable movements drawing Momo’s eyes towards her teacher. The way she spoke placed emphasis in weird places and drew out specific words. It was like watching someone speak in a language she only partially knew how to speak.

But what was the real difference was her classmate’s rowdiness. Momo had been taught to give her tutors the utmost respect, staying silent and listening carefully whenever they spoke. Yet this class didn’t seem to be able to remain silent. They chatted between desks, mumbled out loud, scratched with their pens. Every now and then Iida would stand up and point out some minute error or incorrect fact, which would get fixed, then she’d sit back down. It wasn’t overwhelming, or at least not after a few minutes of acclimatization, but there was always this constant buzz of conversation. 

Despite this, she was having a great time. The material thus far wasn’t challenging, but she had been warned that traditional schools tended to warm students up before teaching the more advanced material. Though why Oba-san had added a mutter of “or at least that’s how it is  _ supposed  _ to work” wasn’t clear. Whether or not she had intended Momo to hear that or not was also unclear. 

But it was time for lunch.

She had always dreamed about talking with friends over a school cafeteria! It was something often written about in literature, a fantasy she had always imagined on lonely days stuck in the Yaoyorozu Mansion. 

But now she had the chance to fulfil those childhood dreams.

With friends too!

_ <Yaoyorozu, are you alright?> _ Midoriya’s flashing hands brought Momo out of her happy daze, curved pupils bright with concern. She had been walking with Midoriya and Bakugo to the food court, but the sight of the strange area had gotten Momo lost in thought. Even though she had been sure they had just gotten to the entrance of the cafeteria, they were suddenly in the line, nearly ready to order.

Huh?

Absentmindedly she gave Lunch Rush her usual lunch order.

“Are you sure?” The hero asked her with a questioning tone.

“Yes?” The question took Momo off guard. What was so weird about her order?

Lunch Rush seemed to look for something, before pulling out a piece of paper. He looked down at it, looked back up to Momo, then his posture changed.

“Oh! Nutrition requirements for your quirk, that makes sense.” He turned towards Midoriya. “What do you want?”

She looked troubled for a moment, before motioning to let go of her tray. Before she could, Bakugo, like the prior day, stepped in to answer for his sister.

“She just wants something with seafood, preferably crabs. And I’d like 5 lots of curry rice.” Bakugo noticed as the hero started to look downwards, but interrupted him. “Yes I’m on that fucking list.”

So very uncouth, swearing like that.

They got their food and found a free table. Though Momo had to take several trips back and forth to get all her food. Finally, they were all sitting down, together. Even though it was a hassle to speak and eat at the same time, or in Midoriya’s case, write, sign and eat, they managed to have another nice conversation about quirks.

Before she could get too invested in their conversation, Momo noticed a figure standing alone in the middle of the food court, with almost everyone else sitting down. Momo could see Iida, her eyes flitting back and forwards between empty seats, seemingly unable to decide on something. 

Looking for free seats?

They had free seats.

“Iida-san!” At the mention of her name, their classmate turned towards them. Momo patted the empty space next to her. “Would you like to sit with us?”

Iida approached them, getting to her seat and placing down her beef curry. Before she sat down, she turned to Momo and bowed deeply. 

This caught Momo completely off guard, right at the moment she had filled her mouth with food.

Food that was now on the table.

She had sputtered out something, before blushing furiously at the mess she had made. Before Momo could do anything else, Iida was already cleaning the spilt rice. A pair of napkins had magically apparated into her classmate's hands while Momo wasn't looking. One hand swept up the food, while the other wrapped it up. Iida stood up, moved to a bin, disposed of the package, then returned. She got out a spray bottle, sprayed the spot in front of her, then wiped the area with a rag. After all that cleaning, she finally sat down.

"As I was about to say, thank you for offering the seat. I was unable to find a clear table and I didn't want to impose on anyone."

Momo smiled, it was nice to help a friend. She returned to eating her meal, noticing from the corner of her eye that Midoriya had given one of her tentacles a pen, which was trying to write something on her notebook. Her face was scrunched up in concentration as she tried to eat and write simultaneously. She looked adorable.

One of Midoriya's tentacles poked at Iida, immediately catching the girl's attention. Midoriya pointed at her notebook, handwriting sloppy but legible.

_ [What is your quirk, Iida?] _

It was like pointing two mirrors at each other.

Midoriya would ask a question, Iida would answer in a long and convoluted manner, which would get ten more questions in response. It was quite entertaining to watch.

But as she did she felt strange. She felt amusement, of course, and that strange feeling she got when thinking about or watching Midoriya. But there was also something else. Something negative directed towards Iida. But that was ridiculous, the girl hadn’t done anything wrong. 

She decided to just quash the emotion, it was unnecessary. 

Momo went back to focusing on Midoriya trying to write with multiple tentacles simultaneously.

_ So cute! _

She could hear Bakugo snort at something, but ignored it.

***

After lunch, they had Heroics Basic Training, a class that Momo was very much looking forward to. It was going to be a new teacher, that much the media had been able to figure. But the actual identity of the mystery hero was unknown, with some rumours suggesting it may be one of the Top 25 heroes, or even a Top Ten hero.

Considering UA’s reputation, whoever it was would be amazing. 

The class turned towards the door, heavy steps alerting them to someone coming up the hallway. Suddenly, the door flew open.

**“I AM HERE!”**

Was Momo hearing that correctly?

**“COMING THROUGH THE DOOR, LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!”**

All Might!

She was going to be taught by-

Before she could finish her thought, a sharp squeal pierced through her thoughts. It was incredibly high pitched, enough to easily break her concentration. It was accompanied by an immense pain in her temple. 

Strangely, the pain didn’t leave after the sound stopped, having only lasted for a second. Despite having the  _ Number One Hero _ in the room, all attention was on the source of the noise.

Midoriya.

She was sitting nervously in her seat, practically wilting under the pressure of the class’ gaze. Her arms were wrapped around her mouth, trying to block any more sounds. Midoriya’s entire form was a bright red.

There was a small cough from the front of the class, drawing Momo’s eye. All Might looked mildly embarrassed, but began to speak once he had regained the students’ attention.

**“WELCOME TO HEROICS BASIC TRAINING! THE CLASS THAT’LL PUT YOU THROUGH ALL SORTS OF TRAINING TO MOLD YOU INTO HEROES!!”**

Compartments popped out of the walls as All Might spoke, revealing suitcases. They were going to be doing a battle trial, so they would need their hero costumes. 

Momo was looking forward to seeing her costume. The costume had been made by Yaoyorozu Industries, of course, with the help of Oba-san. Momo and her maid had worked hard on the design, even though she didn't need it as much, with her quirk.

The class went to the changing rooms, where Momo finally got to try it on for the first time.

Her costume was made of a strong fibre with many resistant properties, such as fire and electricity resistance. The bright yellow and pitch-black fabric covered nearly every inch of her skin, bar her head. Zippers were placed strategically, operable only with the controls on her right shoulder and mask. The panel on her forearms was under the costume, activated when she used her quirk to make her skin bubble in specific places. 

Covering her face was a full head gas mask, the only thing Oba-san and Momo had disagreed on. She had wanted Momo to show her hair, but Momo had thought it too risky and an unnecessary danger. On the inside of the mask was a multipurpose heads-up display. Thermal vision, night vision and flash resistant displays, as well as immediate access to the internet and a material composite database, could all be easily accessed using sophisticated eye-tracking technology. Her ears were protected by the inbuilt communications unit, which also cancelled out any extreme noises. Around her neck were vents that she could use to emit gasses.

She smiled as she put it on, it was just as she designed it and fit perfectly.

Her classmates had some interesting costumes. Hagakure was in a dark, militaristic looking costume with solid plates covered in black fabric. For some reason, the costume had lights attached at several points. She had an open helmet on, which was how Momo recognised her, with the dark void of her face being revealed. Despite its bulk, it made no sounds as Hagakure jumped about. 

Uraraka was wearing a mixture of a white skintight bodysuit and bulky black boots and elbow-length gloves. The boots definitely had some sort of mechanism in them, as they made the already tall girl far taller. Around her waist was a utility belt that held many sheathes for some sort of small spikes, perhaps flechettes?

Todoroki’s costume looked just like her father’s, a blue bodysuit with lines of her signature white flames crisscrossing her body. Her hair was set alight, about half of it red and half of it white.

But then there was Midoriya. 

Her body was covered in a brilliant white armour, like polished seashells. Well, considering what her quirk was, it probably  _ was _ made of shell. It covered her torso, shoulders and even went partially down each of her tentacles. Adorning her head was a little tiara.

“You look so cute!”

Momo couldn’t help herself, she excitedly grabbed Midoriya’s hands and shook them up and down.

“Let’s go to the training area!”

Momo didn’t notice how Midoriya had become red again, nor how her hands quickly stopped struggling to break free as she dragged her friend away.

***

**“TO TEST YOUR SKILLS, WE WILL BE HAVING YOU TEAM UP IN GROUPS FOUR OF FIVE IN A CAPTURE THE FLAG SCENARIO! THIS EXERCISE WILL LET ME EVALUATE WHERE YOU ARE AT, AND HELP YOU LEARN EACH OTHER BETTER!”**

All Might grabbed a box, seemingly from nowhere, placing it on a table, which also appeared from nowhere.

**“DRAW A TICKET, IT WILL HAVE YOUR TEAM NUMBER ON IT! AFTER THE TEAMS ARE CHOSEN, I WILL PICK A TEAM CAPTAIN!”**

Momo grabbed a piece of paper, hoping beyond hope that it would be the same as Midoriya’s. Alas, no. She was on a team with Bakugo, Uraraka, Asui, and Jirou, an excellent composition. She looked towards Midoriya, surrounded by Kouda, Hagakure and Kaminari. She looked around for her friend's last teammate and the closest she could guess was Todoroki, who was standing alone, away from the other teams. 

**“NOW! YAOYOROZU WILL BE THE LEADER OF TEAM ONE, MIDORIYA THE LEADER OF TEAM TWO, IIDA THE LEADER OF TEAM THREE AND TOKOYAMI THE LEADER OF TEAM FOUR!”**

Momo smiled, maybe she would be able to show off what she had learnt from Oba-san, who had been a great tactician once. Midoriya, meanwhile, looked to be shrinking into herself, not helped by Todoroki’s now signature death glare.

**“AS FOR THE RULES…. THEY ARE PRETTY BASIC! EACH TEAM IS GIVEN A FLAG! YOU ARE ALLOWED TO MOVE THE FLAG AND STORE IT WHEREVER YOU SO DESIRE! YOU CAN DEFEAT AN OPPONENT BY WRAPPING THEM WITH SPECIAL CAPTURE TAPE, WHICH IF KEPT ON FOR OVER FIVE SECONDS, COUNTS AS A CAPTURE! IF YOU CAPTURE EITHER THE ENTIRE OPPOSING TEAM, OR IF YOU CAPTURE THE FLAG AND HOLD IT FOR AN UNDISTURBED MINUTE, YOU WIN! FEEL FREE TO USE YOUR QUIRKS, JUST DON’T TRY TO KILL OR MAIM!”**

**“FIRST BATTLE! TEAM ONE VERSUS TEAM TWO”**

Oh no, she was facing Midoriya.

Behind her, someone cracked their knuckles. She turned around to see Bakugo, horrifying grin on his face.

“Let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter!
> 
> This wasn't originally going to be a full chapter, but the starting half of one. However, I wanted to give y'all something, so here you go. So if the chapter feels a bit empty, that's why. What would be the other part will come out sometime in the next weeks. 
> 
> I'd just like to give thanks to Sgcohn18, who gave me some help on this chapter. You might know her off the other good Mermaid Midoriya fic "[Beware even a whisper](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23022436/chapters/55050865)"
> 
> Did you know that Pistol Shrimps can make bubbles that burst at over 4500 Degrees Celcius? And can pop with up to 210 Decibels of noise? Because I do, and look forward to using that information.
> 
> Here is a discord I have adopted, which the equivalent of an author's discord. It's actually Golden Gecko's, but I'm there often. https://discord.gg/9JkK4ry
> 
> Please comment and give me any criticism you have!


	3. Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has angst, you have been warned

If there was one thing Shouko liked about Midoriya, it was that she couldn’t hear the girl’s constant prattling, considering it was in sign, unlike the other members of the class. Otherwise, she couldn’t stand her.

This entire thing was a farce, she didn’t need other people to help her win. She couldn’t be so weak as to drop to that standard. She had to be better than that. The fact that she wasn’t leading this team, even though she had gotten second place in the exam, was a travesty. Yet All Might chose the fancy “recommended student” who probably hadn’t had to work for anything in her entire life. All she needed was the word of her hero relative and suddenly she was in the most prestigious hero course.

~~_“You aren’t good enough.”_ ~~

She couldn’t even speak! How was she supposed to lead?

Shouko looked over towards the group, where Midoriya was waving her hands frantically, and if she listened closely, she could hear the rock headed boy speaking. Midoriya’s body was slowly transforming, her tentacles shifting to make a long abdomen, a hard shell slowly covering her body, her right arm growing in size.

That quirk pissed Shouko off, being able to change power sets. Not to mention having multiple quirks on top of that, if that screech she made in class was anything to go by. 

And the way she smiled, like nothing was wrong.

~~_Tears echoed through the house, but she didn’t care, that wasn’t the problem. Father was mad, that hag of a woman had made her father mad._ ~~

~~_Why didn’t she go the whole way?_ ~~

~~_Then it would just be Shouko and Father._ ~~

~~_At least the Hag was gone_ . ~~

“Oi, stop glaring at Midoriya. What’s your problem?”

Something interrupted her.

She moved her glare directly at the annoying face of the electric boy. He was wearing some sort of visor, a black jacket and long pants. In her face was a gloved finger, black fabric topped with some sort of metal claw. Lines traced down each finger, which continued down to his waist, where he had five round canisters of something on each side.

Another annoyance, and unfortunately, a talented one. He had managed sixth place in the quirk assessment, showing a wide variety of what his quirk could do.

“Hey, I’m talking to you! What have you got against Midoriya?”

She said nothing, only staring into his eyes.

~~_“WHY CAN’T YOU BE GOOD ENOUGH!?”_ ~~

She huffed and turned away, the battle training would start soon, then she could just leave these idiots.

As soon as she could hear All Might’s voice boom through the speakers, Shouko was off. She made flames by her feet, hardening them so they could push her forward. She launched herself at an angle, gaining altitude as she moved.

Eventually, she was towering even the massive buildings of the mock city. Even with her admittedly poor vision, she was easily able to see where the opposing team was. They were perched on top of a building, bright blue flag flapping proudly in the wind.

Were they even _trying_ to win?

She saw three figures, black; green; and white, walk off the building, only for them to… fall sideways? Must be that gravity girl. Either way, defeating them wasn’t necessary to win, all that mattered was that she was faster.

With her target found, she lowered herself to the ground, dropping small amounts before catching herself, in order to be as fast as possible. She rocketed through the streets, finding no problems on her way there.

The actual building was in front of a large open space, standing almost entirely on its own. The ground was covered in some sort of liquid. Maybe it was water, the ground doused in hopes of stopping her fire? Regardless, it didn’t matter.

She looked at the building, it was five floors tall, far too many floors to bother going through. They were probably trapped, anyway. The only way she needed to go was up.

She surged upwards in a pillar of fire.

**BOOM!**

The liquid, which Shouko had assumed to be flame retardant, was actually fuel. Blistering bright white flames soared above the ground, the light creating dark afterimages in her vision. It took her a second to properly control the flames and stop them from burning her.

As she was busy doing that, she failed to notice the small canister falling next to her. 

**BOOM!**

Unlike last time, the flames of this explosion weren’t white, but red.

She could only control her flames, not normal fire.

It was only due to the training she had done to sharpen her reflexes that she was able to fashion a shield to protect herself.

The explosions kept coming.

What was causing them? Bakugo had left with the offensive team, no one else had an explosive quirk.

Wait…. 

Grenades.

Yaoyorozu.

Shouko had to overwhelm them. Hit them hard before she lost any more time.

She released her protective shield, looking to the sky. She saw another grenade and quickly surrounded it in solid flame. Unlike last time, it didn’t explode, she could only hear a hissing sound from the projectile. She watched as her white cage changed colours, slowly becoming a dull maroon.

Gas.

She was distracted, and that distraction was punished with another explosion. As she turned to face where the bomb had exploded, she saw a cloud of something. The air was that same red, only this time it wasn't dulled by her white flames. Inside the gas was a yellow figure, approaching her. She could hardly see their features, only the cold black glint of goggles.

_When did Yaoyorozu come down?_

Shouko needed to defeat her, _fast._

She gathered up her flames, sharpened them like knives, and loosed them upon her opponent. She expected to hear the telltale sounds of blades piercing skin and the boiling of blood, but that didn’t happen.

**CRASH!**

Shouko’s flames shattered into pieces, falling to the ground. Yaoyorozu hadn’t even flinched, let alone paused in her movements. More and more gas filled the area, despite Shouko’s attempts to trap it in multiple fiery prisons. It was nearly on her now.

She panicked.

Massive walls of flame surrounded her, a hollow pillar reaching the sky. Spears jutted out of the wall, trying to stab into anything that approached.

Yet the sound of crashing didn’t stop.

Heat! That must be it. Just use heat.

~~_“HOW CAN YOU BE A FLAME HERO WHEN YOU CAN’T TAKE THE HEAT?!”_ ~~

So she made her flames as large as possible, hard as possible, _hot as possible._

She could feel the dizziness coming already, the sweltering of skin, the nausea.

Was that the lack of oxygen or the intense heat?

She didn’t know.

~~_“Useless!”_ ~~

The cracking continued.

~~_“Pathetic!”_ ~~

In front of her, the fire cracked, revealing a fist.

~~_“Waste of space!”_ ~~

She was scared.

Dead black eyes stared at her, surrounded by a wreath of red mist and yellow skin. A claw emerged from the whole, yellow digits tipped by razor spikes. A needle on each finger, flaunting a horribly coloured liquid inside. 

~~_She needed to be better._ ~~

The hand went right for her neck, stabbing her multiple times in the throat.

~~_She needed to be strong._ ~~

She could feel pain, like she was being repeatedly shot.

~~_She was weak._ ~~

Before she knew it, the pain was too much for her brain to function.

~~_She just wanted to be loved._ ~~

She fell unconscious, fire dying with her thoughts.

**“TODOROKI SHOUKO HAS BEEN CAPTURED!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Evil author noises*
> 
> Here's a mini chapter.
> 
> I'm working hard on making my tags accurate.
> 
> Thank you Yume for beta reading my shit!
> 
> Here is a discord I have adopted, which the equivalent of an author's discord. It's actually Golden Gecko's, but I'm there often. https://discord.gg/9JkK4ry
> 
> Please comment and give me any criticism you have!


	4. Seven Nation Army

"Are you sure I can't fight Prissy Bitch?"

Katsuki glared at the bastard, standing high and mighty on her pillar of flame. She was just asking for a beating, being in his sight. Mocking him.

He could hear a sigh from behind him. "No, Bakugo, it isn't wise to fight her unless you have to. You are the strike force, you just need to find the flag. Fighting her would just slow you down. Leave the defence to Jirou and I."

God damn it. Ponytail made a good point. He would have made his palms crackle with explosions, but Ears was there. The entire point of him being on the offensive team and her being on the defensive was so he  _ didn't  _ burst her ears. So he couldn't do anything but scoff.

"Now, Uraraka, remember to maintain contact with the other two, until you find the target. You can release Bakugo immediately, but slow down Asu-I mean Tsu-chan, before you release her." For some reason Ponytail stuttered when saying Frogface's name. The fuck?

He listened to the rest of their babbling, then the Miruko cosplayer grabbed him and Frogface and suddenly he was falling. There was this strange sensation as the direction of gravity changed, a shift in his stomach. It probably would have been more jarring if he wasn't used to flinging his body around every which way. He had no need to feel fear either, even when he was soaring at high speeds far above the ground. He had learnt to fly, gravity was nothing to him.

Though he would admit having a strong regeneration quirk didn’t hurt.

He glared around, spotting that little camera drone Ponytail had made. Speaking of the girl, she hadn't stopped yapping in his ear, something he just tuned out.

But then he spotted something in the distance, rapidly approaching them.

A giant wall of darkness was on the horizon, and before he knew it, he was surrounded in black.

He could feel the pull of gravity shift again, probably the Miruko cosplayer trying to slow them down. The obnoxious chatter stopped, the communicator in his ear going deathly quiet.

"Uraraka? Bakugo? Are you two still there, kero?" Frogface's voice, usually calm and placid, had a tinge of worry in it.

"Of course I fucking am, it takes more than some stupid black cloud to beat me!" Katsuki spat back, annoyed at the implication.

_ Eager to ease her concerns. _

Before he knew it, the light was back, and with it the coms. He could see the drone, still hovering midair, but far behind them.

"Are you alright? Did Hagakure's quirk do anything to you?"

Katsuki huffed. "We're fine, just couldn't fucking see."

Apparently that was enough to satisfy Ponytail, so they continued their search.

"There!"

Katsuki could see his enemies. Sparky, Snow White, Shady and Hime were all there, the Shadow girl holding a red flag. Hime was in her pistol shrimp form.

Fuck, now he had to be careful.

"Oi! Miruko Junior! Drop me, I'm going in."

As expected, she let go immediately, but the sideways pull took a second before gravity chose to pull him downwards.

He didn't try to slow down his fall, instead opting to dive,so he could go faster. Just before he came into his opponent’s sights, he set off a large explosion by his feet, rocketing directly towards Hime.

He could see the extras try to react, but it was only his sister who managed to move in time. She pointed her right claw at him, left arm bracing it for stability. The claw snapped close, releasing a vicious blast. He launched himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the stream of air that brushed past him. Behind him, he could hear a loud crack as the bubble burst. He could also feel waves of heat radiate from behind him.

That was why he needed to be careful. Those bubbles burst with a heat nearly as hot as the surface of the sun. The heat, not to mention the impact or sound, would easily ignite any nitroglycerin in his body. He had to be cautious in his transformations.

Having dodged the attack, he continued his path toward his sister, tackling her. As he got his arms around her, he liquified his back, then ignited it. The fabric of his costume exploded into a brilliantly bright and loud explosion, blinding Hime’s allies and shooting Katsuki and Hime far away from any help.

Once they were a fair distance away, Katsuki let go of his hold, igniting his chest to send Hime crashing into a building. He quickly scanned behind him, noticing a new wall of darkness behind him. He smirked.

“Now that you are away from your teammates, we can fight each other alone. One on one.” Hime got up, stepping out of the hole she made in the building, determined expression on her face. “You’ll have to pull all the stops to beat me.”

Hime didn’t reply with words, of course she didn’t, instead firing an air blast directly at him. Katsuki ignited his feet to jump over it, but unlike the other shot, this one clipped him. He slammed backwards, spinning in the air. He could only hear the noise for a second, but his ears were already ringing. The heat, more intense than before, singed his foot.

Heh, that was more like it.

He flew towards her, more air blasts flying past Katsuki, a cacophony of cracks sounding behind him. Though she couldn’t rapidly fire, having to cock her claw to initiate the attack, her training had gotten her pretty fast.

Not fast enough.

His palm slammed into her carapace, and he liquified a hole in his hand and arm.

Ignite.

“HOLLOW STRAFE!”

Thick armour cracked around her left shoulder. The force of the blow sent both of them flying in opposite directions. Katsuki used the distraction to transform the inside of his body, hidden under the long sleeves of his costume, so he could heal. Now he could hear again.

“You aren’t going to win this Hime-chan.”

More bubbles were shot his way, but at a slower rate.

Less accurate.

“You aren’t going to win this without using your voice.”

***

_ “I love you, Honey.” _

***

Hime scowled at that. It was hard to tell, with her face being mostly covered with carapace, but Katsuki had grown up with the girl. He knew all of her tells. 

She continued her barrage.

“You are going to try to hit me, I’ll dodge, then beat you. Look at you, your aim is failing. You’ve only gotten a single partial hit on me. I’m going to win.”

***

_ “I love you, Honey.” _

_ “I love you, Honey.” _

***

The instantly recognisable voice of All Might echoed through his earpiece.

**“TODOROKI SHOUKO HAS BEEN CAPTURED!”**

“See? Even your team is losing, you have no hope.”

The shots became more random, losing the rhythmic pace they had had before. The random cracks and pops had ruined his ears again, but that didn’t matter.

“Just use that amazing quirk you have! Open your mouth and you fucking win!”

***

_ “Mom!?” _

***

This was annoying Katsuki now. 

Time to turn up the heat.

He liquified his feet, igniting them to get an explosive amount of speed. He began to spin, funnelling the air towards him.

“STOP FUCKING HOLDING BACK!!”

***

_ “I love you, Honey.” _

_ “I love you, Honey.” _

_ “I love you, Honey.” _

_ “I love you, Honey.” _

_ “I love you, Honey.” _

***

Before he could reach Hime, before he could ignite, before he could set off the attack, he saw something. From the corner of his eye, he caught the sight of something moving incredibly fast. Right towards him. Before he could think, his chest was already liquifying-

**BOOM!**

The centre of his chest, the highly reactive nitroglycerin, exploded. Katsuki could only catch a glimpse of the projectile before he was thrown backwards by the power of the blast.

An arrowhead, tied to a piece of wire.

Sparky.

Katsuki looked up, and there he was. The bastard was standing there, looking smug with his wide smile and stupid sunglasses, wire retreating into his hand.

Oh it was on.

***

Denki watched Todoroki blaze off, completely disregarding anything their team had planned. 

_ {Aw… That’s a shame _ } Kouda spoke, having translated Midoriya’s words to speech.

It was very strange. The small and meek Midoriya, being spoken for by the big, tall Kouda. Though Kouda did have the same meek energy, he was slowly getting more confident as he talked. 

It had been a useful discovery when they figured out that Kouda’s ability to understand animal speech extended to animal mutation quirk users. Instead of them having to slow down Midoriya’s flurry of signs, he had been able to understand through his quirk. Denki had enjoyed watching the two hard of speaking classmates click. 

_ {Oh well… Plan works without her, let’s continue as normal.} _

Their plan was simple: don’t split up. It had become obvious that Todoroki was a loose cannon, so in order to keep their remaining strength they would be moving as one group, instead of splitting into offense and defence. Their version of capture the flag had no zones, so they wouldn’t be putting their flag into any more danger than normal.

They set off, Hagakure leading the party, waving their flag and whistling a jaunty tune. It was an odd combination, her cheery personality and her intimidating, almost militaristic costume.

“Okay guys, I’m gonna do my scan now. Remember to stay behind me!” Hagakure’s chipper voice was the only warning before their entire sight was filled with black.

Holy shit!

Denki could still see what was to his sides, and if he turned his head, what was behind him. But everything in front of Hagakure, even the sky, was nothing but a mass of darkness.

That was some impressive power.

The darkness only lasted a few seconds, until it shrank back into Hagakure’s form. As soon as it did, she visibly slumped. Midoriya immediately moved up to support her classmate.

“Don’t worry, just some quirk exhaustion. I only did that size for a short amount of time, so it should pass soon.” She took a moment to catch her breath. “Bakugo, Uraraka and Tsuyu are in the air coming our way. Yaoyorozu and Jirou are on the top of a building, which looks super trapped on the inside. Yaoyorozu is beating Todoroki, with bombs of all things.”

Oh yeah, the entire point of that was to scout. Not only could Hagakure ‘see’ whatever was inside her darkness, she could look out of the edges of it. Perfect for spying.

Midoriya made some strange motions, hampered by both her crustaceous arms and the weight of Hagakure, but it was enough for Koda to translate.  _ {I’ll try to hold Kacchan off, while you face the other two. Hopefully our plan for Tsuyu will work, so it’s only Uraraka we need to worry about. Prioritise her and make sure to fight indoors if you have to fight her.} _

Everyone gave their acknowledgements of the command and continued going forward. Just like Hagakure had said she would, she had regained her strength swiftly. They continued to follow her as she led them to the red team.

Denki heard a large explosion, and before he knew it, Bakugo was tackling Midoriya down the street. Denki tried to do something, but he was blinded by his opponent’s explosion.

He was barely able to regain vision before he had to dodge several blades flying his way. 

He could see Tsuyu leaping towards them, jumping off walls to reach them. He didn’t see Uraraka hurtling towards him, though, not until she landed a hit on him. It felt like being hit with a truck, but that wasn’t the worst bit. His centre of mass stopped pulling him down, choosing to drag him sideways, down the street. 

Uraraka spun herself, before stomping on the ground. There was a loud metallic noise as something shot out of her boots, followed by a crack. She was standing straight, he was falling to his doom.

Thinking fast, he pooled electrons towards his hands, then slammed them onto the ground. Just like that, he stopped moving. The attraction between the strong negative charge of his hands locked him to the ground.

“Hagakure! Cut her off!”

She did as commanded, a wall of black separating her and Uraraka from him, Kouda and Tsuyu. Soon after, his gravitational pull returned to normal and he stood up. He ran towards Tsuyu, who was harassing Kouda with her tongue. It was only with his quirk’s understanding of animals that he could avoid what were to him highly choreographed attacks.

“Do it now Kouda!”

As if a magic word had been spoken, Kouda started to shout. His surprisingly high voice travelled far and wide, spreading his message.

“SCREAM AT THE FROG GIRL!”

A swarm of bugs emerged from his hero costume, all buzzing loudly. All around, birds gathered, flying in from every direction. And with the birds came the squawks, came the caws, came the screeches. They circled above Tsuyu, creating an unavoidable ear piercing din.

She froze.

Midoriya had explained that all animal mutation quirks had ingrained instincts. They weren’t always that strong, but with enough stimuli they would activate. And if you had enough  _ conflicting  _ stimuli, that would cause problems.

Like if you set off both predator and prey instincts at the same time.

He took the opportunity.

He built up electrical charge in his fingers, pouring more and more electrons into the area. He braced himself, then loosed half of the charge into the arrowhead. Negative charge pushed against negative charge, and the arrowhead shot off, directly towards Tsuyu. She was too stunned to react, so the arrowhead nicked her in the cheek. A small cut, but enough to shock her. 

She fell to the ground, unconscious.

Kouda moved to wrap the capture tape around her, but Hagakure suddenly raced past, capturing Tsuyu. The sky went completely black, and so went their surroundings, the only light being the flashlights on Tooru’s costume. 

“Go, go, go! Inside, now!” 

Behind them, a flash of white and black hurtled towards them, passing Hagakure but smashing into Kouda. Just like Tsuyu, he was knocked out and captured in a manner of seconds.

“Shit!”

They barged into a building, running up staircases to find sanctuary. Eventually, somewhere on the upper floors they found it. They practically fell to the floor, puffing. Hagakure had shrunk her field, so now it only covered her body. The radio silence of their coms died. Now they could clearly hear the booming voice of All Might telling of the two defeats, and the clacking pops of Midoriya’s quirk.

“Do you reckon we could trick her into searching for us in here if we escape now?” Denki asked.

“No, we need to beat her. She can make time on us very fast, and is a huge threat.”

“But if you just-”

Denki didn’t have the time to finish speaking before something crashed through the wall. Rubble flew right towards them, and he only barely managed to avoid them. Uraraka dropped to the opposite wall, already motioning into another attack. She leaped off the wall, spinning, before smashing those heavy boots of hers into him. The hallway seemed to turn into a tall tower as his gravity shifted to the side

Not this time.

Fly mode on.

Electrical discharges launched him along the hallway. He tried to fire at her, but she just leaped from wall to wall. Her change in gravity caused him to drop back down to the floor, an easy target for Uraraka’s next attack.

“CLOSE YOUR EYES!” He heard Hagakure yell. He immediately obeyed, preparing for those boots to crash into him again.

“Flashpoint!”

Even with his eyes closed, the world became nothing but light. A concentrated beam of white streaked across his vision. He felt heat radiate over his back. When he opened his eyes he could barely see, but he did notice the carnage around him. 

Uraraka had a bit of a hole in her body. 

But she was out.

“Shit, went a bit overboard. She should be fine, but let’s call the med team to be safe.” Hagakure was inspecting their opponent, who seemed to have taken relatively minor damage, only having a chunk of her side burned out.

“Holy shit! What did you do!?”

Hagakure motioned as if she was smiling. “I’m a battery. I absorb light. But I can also release it. The inside of my costume is filled with mirrors, focusing the light. So I get laser beams!”

“Wow.”

They carried Uraraka outside, giving her to the med bots. 

Denki heard something from the coms, a signal that Midoriya had made. If she made cracks in a specific order, it meant she was starting a message. He heard the beginning code, then the actual message.

“ − · −”

K.

Kaminari.

“Hagakure, stay here. Midoriya’s calling for me. Remain vigilant.”

She nodded. She seemed thankful for the wait, still tired from her flashpoint attack. Yet she got into a defensive position, baton out, darkness surrounding her. 

Denki ran off to the source of the loud cracks and explosions.

Bakugo was yelling something at Midoriya, who had her arm injured. He then started twisting in what seemed like the start of a super move.

Not on his watch.

He fired off an arrowhead, which landed right in Bakugo’s chest.

Through Bakugo’s chest.

There was an explosion, launching Bakugo back, but he seemed to be fine.

“Midoriya, go. I can take Bakugo. Go back to Tooru and win for us.”

She looked hesitant for a second, before nodding, then retreating.

He got ready for the explosive boy to charge him, and charge he did.

“You know Bakugo, you could say my quirk perfectly counters yours. Nitroglycerine is a very reactive substance, if I so much as get a spark on it, you’ll explode. If it hits skin, you’ll be tasered. Have fun!”

He aimed his fingers, firing two missiles per hand. Bakugo somehow managed to dodge, but it still stopped him from advancing. Denki jerked his hands around, using the wires like whips.

Despite his attempts, he couldn’t get any good hits on Bakugo. Any time he came close, Bakugo would explode away from the attack. Whenever he got a hit in, it would just be a patch of nitroglycerine, exploding but not shocking Bakugo. But slowly his plan was working. Bakugo was getting smaller and smaller, his body riddled with holes and pocks. Denki was attacking too rapidly for Bakugo to get a chance to fully heal.

He may not be winning the battle, at most it was a standstill, but he was winning the war. His intent wasn’t even to beat Bakugo, just hold him back.

“FUCK THIS SHIT!”

Bakugo launched further into the sky.

Shit, he would escape.

Denki reeled in his wires and, with bursts of charge on each foot, took to the skies.

He would have to be more drastic.

Fuck it, super move time.

He dropped down to the roof of a building. He braced his legs, using charge to stick them to the ground. He spread his hands, each finger holding a ridiculous amount of charge. Then he fired all of his arrows, intent on trapping Bakugo.

“CAT O’ TEN TAILS!”

Wires shot out, surrounding Bakugo on all sides, but he seemed unphased by the incoming attack.

The boy pointed his hands towards Denki. The boy’s fists completely exploded, launching him backwards at immense speed.

Out of the way of Denki’s super move.

But that wasn’t the only effect of the explosion.

“METEOR BARRAGE!”

His fingers fired off, fuelled by explosions at their ends. Denki tried to avoid them, to bat them away with his wires. But they just adjusted and dodged his attempts.

The last thing he heard, before the searing heat, before the impact, was a cacophony of blasts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back!
> 
> Next chapter will conclude this very long training exercise, which I split into multiple chapters again. Hopefully the next chapter should be done soon, maybe in a manner of days, though don't get overly hopeful.
> 
> Sorry about last chapter suddenly dropping a shit tonne of angst on y'all, I forgot to tag that or warn, so whoops. The story is gonna be nice and fluffy romance, but with angst and whatnot. I'm trying to write Momo as a horror movie villain in her fights, 'cause she scary.  
> Thanks to Beta Readers MsL, Yume Peyton and Golden Gecko.
> 
> I GOT FANART!  
> I mean, technically speaking I did ask for it, but it's still awesome. Done by the wonderfully skilled and amazing Camoflare.
> 
> I also did some noticeably worse art.
> 
> Here is a discord I have adopted, which the equivalent of an author's discord. It's actually Golden Gecko's, but I'm there often. https://discord.gg/9JkK4ry 
> 
> Please comment and give me any criticism you have!


	5. Animal I Have Become

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little warning... This chapter kinda gets dark. So if you aren't in the mood for that now, just be cautious. The next few chapters will be too.  
> Don't worry too much, it will get better.
> 
> Eventually.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter.

Tooru noticed someone approaching from the distance, so she readied her quirk. She had used up most of her light on that laser beam before (sorry Ochako). She’d have to rely on darkness and baton if things went south.

Fortunately it was only Izumi, scuttling along on those weird shrimp legs of hers. 

“Where’s Denki?”

Izumi pointed behind her.

“Should we go back?”

She shook her head. Instead she pointed behind where Tooru was standing.

“Leave him and go for the flag?”

She nodded.

RIP Denki, then. Oh well, let his sacrifice not be in vain.

“You know, it’s gonna be annoying trying to talk to you. We lost our communicator, in Koji, and you can’t write with those claws of yours.”

She was going to say more, but Izumi started to make these annoyed sounding clacking noises with her claws. She then proceeded to viciously stab the claw in the same area behind Tooru that she had before.

“Oh yeah, timed exercise, teammate making a noble sacrifice. Yeah, yeah, yeah, lets go!”

So they ventured forward, Tooru leading the way towards the other team’s stronghold. What worried her was the lack of defences. She had expected more defences to be put up. Momo had a very useful and versatile quirk, yet there was no evidence of her using it. Sure there were those camera drones she was pretending not to have noticed, but other than that, nothing.

They eventually reached the building, or to be more accurate, an alleyway in sight of it. Of all the buildings they could have chosen, they chose one that was surrounded by open space. It was basically a moat that surrounded their little castle. To get to the building, they’d have to let themselves be sitting ducks to overhead fire. A horrible idea considering Momo’s quirk. 

“How’s your shoulder?” Tooru turned to Izumi, who was shocked out of her deep thought. She cocked her claw upwards. With Koji’s help, she’d explained that, like Katsuki, she could use her transformation to heal her. Unlike her brother, it was far slower, though fast enough to make a difference. “Good. Do you reckon you can shoot with accuracy?”

Izumi nodded.

“Cool, cool. Now I’m sure you have a brilliant plan, but the language barrier is a bit fucky, so we’ll have to go with my plan for time. Better than wasting it on charades.”

Izumi looked a bit sad but nodded again.

“Don’t worry, it’s mostly just a fusion of your ideas from the start. We don’t have any movers, so we can’t just scale the building. We’ll have to get into the building, which is trapped to kingdom come, and go up the stairs. So here’s my plan…”

***

**Step one: cover the sky.**

Tooru focused on herself, that was always the easiest way to activate her quirk. She conjured up a silhouette of herself, leant up against a wall.

Then she changed that image.

Her head wasn’t an ovid. No, that would be ridiculous, it extended, shot up, then made a humongous disk shape. As it should. 

With her imaginations complete, something that took less than a second, reality followed. Just below the tops of the buildings was what looked to most like a blanket of darkness. To Tooru, it was an area where she could perfectly see  _ everything. And _ she could see normally from the outside of the cloud.

She could see her enemies, but Momo’s lack of reaction was troublesome.

**Step two: move to the building, preferably without getting hit by something.**

As soon as they began moving, Tooru spotted Kyouka saying something, then Momo started to create capsules from her arms.

Blast.

Maybe literally, if the black marks and pocks on the ground were any indication.

**If shot at, shoot back.**

Tooru could hear a loud crack from behind her, then a larger boom. She had seen it all, 360 degree vision being useful and all, so she saw the metal container suddenly shoot upwards, before exploding. Overwatch from Izumi’s air blasts.

**Step three: go upstairs, but cautiously.**

Once they arrived at the building, Tooru shrunk her field back to a protective bubble around them. She then pushed darkness into the doorway, so she could fully survey the room.

As expected, traps.

She spotted a tripwire set to gas canisters, some sort of device attached to the doorway they would be coming in through, and numerous others.

She pointed them out to Izumi, who got rid of them with her blasts.

Climbing the building was.... tiring. 

And tedious.

Scan.

Locate.

Point.

Exterminate.

Climb.

Repeat.

It was lucky the exercise had a large time limit.

Eventually, there was only one last door to open. They were on the top floor, only a barricaded door away from their enemy.

Obviously they wouldn’t normally be able to see the barricade, as it was on the other side of the door. Tooru’s quirk helped with that, a sliver of darkness letting her see the roof, the giant metal bars blocking any attempts at opening, and their opponents preparing to attack.

The roof was covered in some pink mist, different to the dull red they had been dealing with.

“Do you know what pink fog could mean?” Tooru asked Izumi.

In reply, she put her arms against her head, as if trying to nap. 

“Sleep? Like Midnight-sensei’s quirk?”

Izumi snapped her claw. Tooru wasn’t Koji, but even she could practically hear the  _ ‘exactly!’ _ in the action.

“Kyouka looks ready to boom us into yesterday, so we need a new plan. The door is a bottleneck, letting them two on one us. We should-”

She was cut off by Izumi clicking rapidly, drawing her claw over her mouth.

“Be quiet?” Tooru asks, this time in a whisper. Izumi nods, putting both claws by her head, pointing down, seemingly to answer Tooru’s unspoken question. “Kyouka? Oh yeah, super hearing or something, right.”

But something felt odd.

She had been watching Kyouka, who hadn’t really been reacting to them. She’d just been talking to Momo, half an eye on the door. Wouldn’t she know where they were? And surely she would have reacted to them stopping talking right? 

Come to think about it, weren’t Izumi’s blasts super fucking loud? If Tooru hadn’t been supplied with ear protectors from Izumi, she would probably be deaf or something. Those blasts were like two hundred decibels or something. Wouldn’t Kyouka get it worse? Be bleeding from the ears or something?

Unless....

“Modern pop music is fucking awesome, old rock is trash!” Tooru didn’t shout it, but she wasn’t quiet either. Izumi was staring at her in shock and confusion, but it didn’t matter.

Tooru had proof.

Kyouka would have reacted to something so  _ opposite _ to her views otherwise. If only a bit.

“Kyouka can’t hear us, she’s got some sort of protector to deal with your blasts.” Realisation dawned on Izumi’s face, then a vicious grin. “Let’s do a surprise attack! How strong are your blasts?”

***

It was evident that Momo and Kyouka had expected them to come through the door, if their surprise when they burst the roof open was any indicator. The flash of light Tooru set off, followed by a wave of pure darkness probably didn’t help, either.

They had aimed right below Momo, who was the biggest threat. Infuriatingly, it only momentarily phased her, and didn’t knock her back  _ at all.  _ Izumi shot another blast, clearing the gas enough for Tooru. 

She scampered up the boxes they had placed in preparation, climbing to the roof with ease. Kyouka managed to regain her composure just as Tooru charged her. It seemed that her mufflers didn’t completely null her hearing, considering she managed to turn her amplifiers in the right direction to attack Tooru.

“Heartbeat Fuzz!”

Waves of sound slammed into her, vibrating through her whole body. Tooru struggled to remain standing under the cacophony of beats. She rolled to the side, out of the attack. Purely by luck, she had managed to position herself in such a way that attacking her would mean attacking Momo. She used her advantage to close the distance.

Kyouka tried to block her attack, alerted by the distinct  _ shink _ of her baton extending, but she saw the block.

Tooru could see all. 

Her strike went around Kyouka’s guard, a sharp strike to the chest, before she disengaged. She circled Kyouka, who was unable to do anything but futilely twist and turn, trying to catch her in the stream of sound. 

It seemed that those noise dampeners of Kyouka’s were connected to her boots, if the two input sockets per leg were anything to go by. That meant that with all the cracks, pops and booms of Izumi and Momo’s battle, she’d have to go deaf if she wanted to use those jacks as whips.

Kyouka started to grimace, evidently annoyed at how fruitless her attempts were.

Strike to the ribs. 

Back of the knee.

Elbow.

Wrist.

If Kyouka couldn’t see her, she couldn’t beat her.

Or so Tooru thought.

She didn’t notice the earphone jack that wasn’t in its plug, but instead crawling down Kyouka’s boot. Because it was roughly where it should have been, she didn’t notice the difference. Didn’t notice it burrow into the floor.

Not until it shot back up into her leg.

The sound flowing through her was far more intense than before. Blast after blast of heavy bass, thrumming through her entire being. Just the thought of moving seemed impossible.

The Heartbeat Fuzz turned to her, a full frontal assault.

Tooru could only take it for so long.

She was out.

***

Momo really should have expected a surprise attack.

Hagakure had a sensory quirk for goodness sake! She would have seen them ready to attack.

Oh well, time to fight.

She was glad her goggles had flash protection, otherwise she’d be blinded  _ and  _ entrapped in darkness. She flicked through her display options, but none of them worked. Both thermal and night vision used infrared light, light that was absorbed by the darkness.

She was contemplating how to approach the problem when something hit her in the chest. It burst with immense force, enough that she was pushed back slightly. For barely a second, if that, raging heat radiated from her chest. She could feel her costume begin to warp, but the fact it stayed intact was proof of its strength, not of the heat’s weakness. She could feel her torso begin to burn, but it only went skin deep. The protective layer of compressed fat prevented any more damage. She was glad for the ear protection, or else she would be really hurting.

Now she had a direction.

Midoriya had revealed her position

With a thought, and a twist of her quirk, the glove on her hand fell off. From her hand, she could feel the cold metal of a gun forming. It was a small thing, a pistol, designed for dart launching. Not lethal, but capable of punching small holes in things, more powerful than your average tranquiliser gun. It was loaded with specialty bullets, filled with doses of Bullet Ant venom. The most painful sting of all insects.

She aimed in front of her, firing rapidly in the approximate area of where the blast had come from. She listened in, hearing the beats of Jirou’s sound attack in the distance.

**Clunk.**

Concrete.

**Clunk.**

Concrete.

**Clink.**

Shell.

Another blast came her way, but Momo was able to react this time. She lifted her arms up, so her gun was out of the way. She was only momentarily halted.

She started to advance, continuing to shoot, stop, shoot again.

The blasts got more intense, coming faster and faster. They came from different angles, so they didn’t all hit.

Then the darkness vanished.

**“HAGAKURE TOORU HAS BEEN CAPTURED!”**

Suddenly she could see, and do more than blindly shoot and hope.

She wasn’t that far from Midoriya, so now she could see the damage she’d done. Her shell was riddled with cracks, though her armour held up slightly better.

Now she could see her target, she ran towards Midoriya. 

Unfortunately, now Midoriya could see Momo better, her shots improved in accuracy. In a volley of blows, Momo’s gun was tossed out of her hand.

No matter, she would just go melee.

With her ungloved hand, she grabbed Midoriya’s shooter claw. She began emitting Somnambulist from her neck, the gas jetting out of her costume’s vents. Her other hand grabbed Midoriya’s weak claw.

She was trapped.

Nowhere to escape.

Momo began closing her grip on Midoriya’s claw.

There was a loud cracking noise, as her carapace gave.

Flesh exposed, now she could use her chemicals.

Needles emerged from her fingers, one managing to jab into Midoriya.

There was an ear piercing scream.

The scream was wordless, filled only with pure fear and pain. But Momo could hear a message loud and clear.

_ Stop! _

Waves of agony slammed into her brain, sending the message over and over again. She could feel her quirk stop, returning to its default state. She could feel her grip slack, leaving Midoriya free to escape. She could feel her thoughts slowing to a crawl, so much that she could barely remain conscious. Her senses were blurry, so she could only partially see Midoriya, Jirou ramrod straight in the background. 

Midoriya looked horrified, her left arm immediately covering her mouth. She didn’t do anything for a while, whether seconds or minutes, Momo couldn’t tell. Midoriya approached Momo, putting her claw against her neck. She held it for a second, before moving to Jirou.

She did the same action.

And remained there.

And remained there.

And remained there.

Suddenly, Midoriya dropped to her knees, a horrified look on her face. Her left claw grasped at her waist, struggling to get something out of her utility belt.

Her movements became more and more hurried, until finally she could reach into the pocket, pulling out something.

Which then toppled to the floor.

Midoriya’s arms were shifting, becoming softer looking.

But the claws were still there, instead of hands.

She still couldn’t grasp it.

An idle portion of her mind recognised what it was she was grasping at. 

_ Yaoyorozu Industries brand tranquilisers. _

A formula she had memorised by the age of five.

Momo could hear strange noises, distorted by the effect of Midoriya’s quirk. Loud sounds that grew, peaked, then suddenly ended.

Explosions.

A black figure flew in from behind Midoriya. It moved at ludicrous speeds, grabbing the needle and swiftly injecting it into Jirou’s neck. 

The girl immediately fell to the ground.

“Is Ponytail fine?”

The trembling Midoriya nodded.

“Okay, Ponytail. If you can hear me, don’t fucking worry. It will pass in a few minutes. So chill.”

He turned to the air, shouting at someone.

“END THE FUCKING EXERCISE, WE NEED HELP FOR EARS!”

All the while, Midoriya was collapsed on the ground, staring at her newly formed hands as if they held the secrets to the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the exercise concludes.
> 
> Should have called this chapter Sheer Heart Attack.  
> ...  
> Too soon?
> 
> Hopefully the next chapter is gonna be soonish, maybe a week or two, but I'm gonna actually update Walking Corpse next. Yes, finally. I've left it on hiatus too long so ye.
> 
> As I said in the starting notes, the next few chapters are gonna be a bit depresso. I promise you guys a psuedo date by the chapter after next. Or the one after that. Gotta have time and stuff.
> 
> Just wanna thank Beta Readers: MsL, Yume, [Roy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foggydaysahead/pseuds/Foggydaysahead), and [Golden Gecko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenGecko/pseuds/GoldenGecko)
> 
> Here is a discord I have adopted, which the equivalent of an author's discord. It's actually Golden Gecko's, but I'm there often. https://discord.gg/9JkK4ry
> 
> Please comment and give me any criticism you have!


	6. Isle of Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has angst, so if you aren't looking for that right now, take a pass for now.
> 
> Next chapter is fluff though, I promise

Momo awoke from what seemed like a daze, regaining consciousness in a dark room, filled with screens. No, that wasn’t quite right. She could vaguely remember the sequence of events, though with great difficulty.

The room felt empty. Hagakure, Kouda, and Asui were sitting on seats near her, Todoroki as far away from the others as possible, and Midoriya and her brother on the other side of the room. It seemed that Kaminari, Uraraka and Jirou were all absent.

_ Jirou. _

Midoriya’s quirk had done something to the girl, something worse than the ailment Momo had gotten. If she was able to remember correctly, sum up Midoriya’s actions, then that could only mean one thing.

Jirou’s heart had stopped.

No wonder Midoriya had freaked out so much. 

No wonder she never spoke.

She turned to see her friend. She was back in a more humanoid form, in her usual octopus transformation. Her arms and tentacles were wrapped around Bakugo, trapping him in a tight hug. Momo motioned to approach, getting up from her seat. But as she did her eyes met Bakugo’s. Those usually hard eyes were soft, yet resolute. They caught her gaze, and he shook his head.

_ Not now. _

“Back to the land of the living are we?” Hagakure’s voice, probably meant to be cheerful and uplifting, was only grating. Momo offered some vague response, but her heart wasn’t in it.

She tried to watch the match that was going on, but no matter how hard she tried to focus, she couldn’t tell what was going on. Was Iida’s team winning? She couldn’t even guess.

Somewhere in the lesson, Kaminari and Uraraka appeared. Though it was a miracle she could actually tell.

Before she could even think of snapping out of it, of focusing on what they were supposed to be observing, the rest of the class had come back. Before she knew it, she was outside, stepping into her limousine.

“Yaoyorozu-sama? Are you alright?” Her maid had a concerned look on her face.

Was she?

She felt a melancholy she had never really felt before, but then again she had lived a sheltered life. She thought of Midoriya’s horrified face, of her frantic attempts to try to save her classmate, of her crying into Bakugo’s arms.

She needed to help her.

“No, Oba-san. But it isn’t something I can help now. Do not mind it.”

She looked uncertain, but ultimately nodded.

Tomorrow.

***

Kyouka woke to the sound of beeping. How hadn’t that woken her up? Usually any abnormal sounds would make even the most deathlike sleep vanish instantaneously. It was a… blessing? Curse?  _ Something  _ of her quirk.

She looked around, she was in a white room. White room? Beeping? She was in a hospital room. Or at least something similar. She heard someone opening a door, but by the time her oddly sluggish body turned to face it, no one was there and the door was closed. She noticed there was a bag next to the waiting chairs.

Who was that? But more to the point, why was she in the nurse's office?

With wires strapped to her and a heart rate monitor by her side, of all things?

She tried to remember what happened before she was knocked out. It was definitely in the battle trial, she knew that much. She had just defeated Hagakure, and fuck did that hurt. The darkness had disappeared and then…

Nothing.

She felt her body. Nothing really  _ hurt. _ Which was surprising, considering she had had her jacks out with Midoriya’s air blasts. Her body felt  _ off _ , but not painful. Like everything was restarting. 

“Ah, you are awake. That is good.” She was so busy checking herself that she failed to notice the door open. In front of her was the school nurse, Youthful Hero: Recovery Girl. Standing behind the diminutive heroine was a rather bored looking Bakugo. Had he been waiting for her? Why?

“I know you may not feel it, but you went through a serious injury in your exercise. Namely, you died.”

“What!?” She practically shouted.

“Legally speaking at least. Your heart stopped beating for around a minute. You seemed to have an adverse reaction to a classmate’s quirk. However, due to the swift action of Bakugo, the fact you were brought to me quickly, and my own quirk, you are mostly fine. However I will caution any harsh movements until I can administer any more healing.”

She continued to explain exactly what Kyouka could and couldn’t do, but ultimately it wasn’t as bad as she expected. She was fucking fortunate. After that, Recovery Girl left the office.

That left Bakugo, who had been waiting behind the nurse, not quite patient, but not really doing anything about it, either. He was nice enough, she guessed. He didn’t call her by her real name, but he did that to everyone. Therefore it wasn’t really a slight directed at her. He yelled, but tried not to be too loud around her. And there was that thing with Mineta. 

Why was he here?

“Why are you here?”

He snorted. “Pretty direct of you Ears, but I guess you just fucking  _ died _ , so whatever. Hime-chan’s quirk fucked you up. It’s sound based, and you have a hearing quirk, so it affected you worse.” 

But wasn’t her quirk that fish quirk? What did that have to do with sound?

“She wanted to apologise, but she also felt you wouldn’t want to see her. So I was sent.” He grabbed his bag, rifling through it. Eventually he managed to grab a piece of paper, folded in two. Bakugo handed it to Kyouka.

“Look… She’s not in the best headspace right now, with how guilty she feels. I know it may seem cliche, but keep that in mind. It’s what she’s feeling, and not in a pretty way.”

She cautiously opened the note, fearing the worst. It was just a regular piece of paper, probably from Midoriya’s notebook. There was only one thing said on the note.

_ I’m sorry. _

It was written over and over, hundreds if not thousands of times. As the words went across the page, the writing got smaller and messier. The ink was blotchy in places, as there was water damage.

_ Tears. _

She smiled up at Bakugo. 

“Tell her I said thank you.” She paused, realising something. She looked at the clock on the wall.  _ Holy shit. _ “And come to think of it, thank  _ you _ for waiting for me. It’s like six o’clock, yet you haven’t even been at home.”

He scoffed. “Of course I waited, it was important.”

Jirou smiled, getting up and packing her stuff. She felt slightly weak, though not as much as she’d expect from a  _ heart attack. _ “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Haha, fuck no.” He also packed up his bag. “You aren’t fucking healthy, I’m taking you home.” 

He then grabbed at her bag, she glared at him, but he glared back. He glared harder, and snatched the bag up. He moved to the door, pulling it open. “Well? Are you ready to go?”

She walked through the door, slightly petulant. Sure she felt a  _ bit _ weak, but she could do it. ”Of course I can you twat. I’m injured, not  _ disabled.” _

“It’s called fucking chivalry!”

***

When Momo arrived at school, the entrance was incredibly crowded. There were numerous reporters from different news agencies. They were gathered around the gates, calling out their desire for an interview and accosting any student who neared.

Oba-san tutted. “This will not do at all. Yaoyorozu-sama, be sure to stay near me. I will ensure we get free entry.” 

She walked up to the gathering, Momo a short distance behind. She snapped her fingers and something subtly changed in her demeanor. Oba-san was always intimidating, though Momo never personally felt it. But now she  _ radiated _ authority. The type no one would dare cross, upon fear of death. Momo would assume it was a quirk, but she knew her maid’s quirk, and no one had two. 

But it was just as effective as one.

“Make way for the Yaoyorozu heiress!”

Like Moses parting the Red Sea, wherever Oba-san went, the reporters parted. Some more courageous few tried to approach, but backed off when she turned her ire on them. When they were nearly to the UA gate, an especially brave, or foolish, reporter grabbed onto Momo’s arm.

“What is it like learning from All Might?”

That was a mistake. 

Just as the reporter grabbed her arm, Oba-san grabbed the reporter’s arm. 

“Unhand Yaoyorozu-sama,  _ or else. _ ” There was an ominous tone in her maid’s voice. It was clear she was entirely serious.

The reporter instantly let go.

They walked over the boundary, Oba-san patting Momo down.

“I hope you have a better day than yesterday. If these  _ ruffians _ are still here after you are finished, call me and I will escort you safely away.” She bowed, then turned away. She paused for a second, focusing on a point in the crowd. Momo ignored it, either it was her maid being overprotective, or she would deal with it.

She walked to her class, mildly optimistic. Hopefully Midoriya was feeling better.

Momo kept up that blissful ignorance for as long as she could, but it didn’t last long.

The first thing she noticed was the yelling.

While Bakugo was admittedly often loud, obnoxiously so, he usually required something to set him off. Or at least that was what she had observed him to be like. Yet he could be heard shouting at someone as he approached.

“Get that fucking thing off! You don’t need it! You are fucking fine without it!” 

He seemed to pause for a second, perhaps listening to someone reply.

“That doesn’t fucking matter! Nothing bad ended up happening! She fucking forgives you! Don’t give me that shit!”

Bakugo entered the room, not even bothering to quiet down the slightest bit. His face was red and he looked  _ agitated. _

Momo could see Iida prepare to berate their classmate. Before she got the chance, she noticed something. Following behind Bakugo was Midoriya.

Wearing a muzzle.

It was a bulky thing, easily covering the lower half of her face, up to her nose. It was made out of thick leather, with a layer of metal covering it. It was wound tightly around her face, not giving her jaw any give. Unlike Hound Dog’s one, or other versions Momo had seen, this wasn’t a fashion accessory. Not at all.

_ Midoriya…. _

Instantly, Iida rushed towards Midoriya. “Midoriya-san! What is that on your face? Who did this? Do not worry, I will get rid of it immediately.” She began to reach up to Midoriya’s face, intent on helping.

She pushed Iida away, with decent force. She shook her head violently, pulling her arms up into a cross. Her eyes blazed with an intensity that surprised Momo, red eyes full with conviction.

“Hime-chan’s decided that she needs it.  _ Which she doesn’t.  _ It’s supposed to be a safety measure against her quirk. “ Bakugo said, voice laced with annoyance, from his seat. “Good fucking luck getting her to take it off, though please try,” He sighed. “I’ve been trying all fucking morning.”

Iida looked stunned for a moment, before turning back to Midoriya. The smaller girl gave Iida a vicious glare, almost daring her to continue.

“Um… You shouldn’t have that on…” Iida’s voice was far less authoritative than it usually was. But she said no more. Cowed, she fled to her seat.

As Midoriya walked towards her seat, Momo spoke softly to her friend. “Are you alright?”

As soon as she finished speaking she got her answer.

_ <No.> _

She then turned around, sat at her desk, and prepared her stationary. The message was clear, that was the end of the conversation.

When Aizawa-sensei entered the room, he took one look at Midoriya, then turned to Bakugo. He raised a single eyebrow. Bakugo sighed, then pulled out a note, giving it to him. He read it then nodded, passing the note back.

“Good work with yesterday’s battle training. Midoriya, I’d comment, but you know what you did. Control your quirk, your current solution may work, but it is inefficient. And figure out how to communicate better. Hagakure, be more careful with your attacks, Uraraka could have been seriously hurt. Todoroki, you can’t do everything by yourself. Work with your teammates.” He singled out a few more people before moving on.

“All Might and I reviewed your training, so you have a more in depth critique in these handouts.” He held out a stack of papers, then began passing them out. “Now, on to homeroom business. Sorry for the sudden announcements, but today, you’ll pick a class president.”

***

Momo wasn’t sure whether to be happy or not. She hadn’t gotten Class President, but she had gotten Vice-President. She stood up in front of the class with pride.

Standing next to her was a very confused looking Midoriya.

Momo had voted for her, of course. It would have been against the point of a democratic vote to vote for herself. And it turned out multiple other people agreed with her. 

Now Midoriya was looking frustrated. She turned to the board, erased what was on it, then wrote a single word.

_ [Really??] _

The class seemed to find humour in the question. But Momo saw that the girl didn’t know what to do. She was obviously conflicted, unable to decide what to do.

Unfortunately the bell rang, cutting off any serious discussion Midoriya could have made.

***

Classes continued as per normal, yet it didn’t quite feel right. Despite the interesting and varied topics being discussed in class, Momo couldn’t gather her usual enthusiasm. 

The rest of the class had slowly gotten used to Midoriya’s muzzle, having stopped giving her repeated glances. With the lack of attention, she seemed to calm, going from aggression to withdrawal. Bakugo was still fuming in his seat, but he hadn’t said anything more to Midoriya, though occasionally scowled at her.

Eventually lunch came, and they lined up to get food. Momo was midway through ordering both her and Midoriya’s meals before she was interrupted by a tapping on her shoulder. She turned to see her friend pointing at her mouth, before signing.

_ <No food for me, I’ll be fine.> _

Momo frowned.  _ <Are you sure?> _

She nodded. 

Despite her words, Midoriya couldn’t stop her instincts. Momo could see her eyes gazing longingly towards the visible food. It broke Momo’s heart, but she followed Midoriya’s request, telling Lunch Rush not to make the seafood dish.

She found a table and sat down, with Iida and Midoriya. She noticed Bakugo coming, with Jirou following him. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Midoriya freeze in place, before wilting. Her eyes were wide and those strangely shaped irises of hers were tracking every movement Jirou made. The entirety of her body flared into a bright shade of red. Frantically, she whipped out her notebook, smacking Iida in her rush, and began to write. As her brother approached she seemed more and more flustered, starting to hyperventilate. 

“Midoriya.” Momo whispered, placing her hands gently on Midoriya’s shoulders in an attempt to calm the girl’s shuddering. “It’s alright. What happened was an accident. Jirou-san recovered with only minor injuries. She’ll forgive you.”

Midoriya turned to Momo, alien eyes filled with hope. But it was clear she was still doubtful.

The sound of a tray hitting the table startled Midoriya, making her jolt up to a stand immediately. She turned to face Jirou, picking up her paper. Before Jirou could say a word, Midoriya was bowing deeply, arms proffering the note towards the other girl. Jirou looked confused, but only partially so, almost as if she was expecting something like this. She cautiously took the letter, carefully reading the words.

“...Thank you for the apology Midoriya.” Jirou said slowly.

Midoriya came up from the deep bow, nodding at Jirou, then bowing again. Then she picked up her bag and turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” Jirou’s confused words didn’t come out harsh, but they did come suddenly. It was enough that Midoriya froze once again, before slowly turning around. She started signing.

_ <Kacchan?> _

Bakugo huffed. Kacchan must have been his nickname, because he gave a nod. Midoriya kept signing, with Bakugo translating.

“She says that you probably don’t want her to be near you, so she’s going to find somewhere else to be, so she doesn’t bother you.”

Midoriya nervously bowed again, before motioning to turn away.

“That’s stupid, Midoriya.” Jirou said, incredibly bluntly. “You don’t have to worry about that. You made a mistake, we all do that. And I’m doing surprisingly well for a dead person, so water under the bridge. ‘Kay?” 

Midoriya nodded, reluctantly returning to the table.

After that things were relatively normal, though Momo didn’t miss the fact Midoriya was sitting as far away from Jirou as possible. She seemed less enthusiastic than normal, barely even perking up when she learnt Iida came from a family of heroes. Momo wondered if she’d know Oba-san, though she doubted it. Come to think of it, Midoriya got in through recommendations, so she must know someone important. Was she related to a Professional Hero? But Bakugo hadn’t been at the exam, why was that?

Before she could think more on the topic, she noticed two new people approach their table. The pitch black form of Hagakure skipped over, dragging the trembling Kouda behind her. “Mind if we sit here?”

Momo smiled. “Of course.”

Hagakure promptly sat down. “I’m Hagakure Tooru, but you can call me Tooru!” She grabbed Kouda on the shoulders. “And this lovely man is Kouda.”

The new introduction brought some light to the conversation, but the underlying tension remained.

***

“Midoriya, Yaoyorozu.” Aizawa-sensei called them as they packed up at the end of classes. Momo swiftly gathered her belongings, then headed to the front of the classroom. Once Midoriya was present, Aizawa continued. “Because you two are class president and vice president, one of your duties will be to act as student representatives for your class. This means meeting with a student council after school. Such a meeting like the one you are due to be at in five minutes, at the hall where the exam explanations were. Now go.” 

Aizawa had an almost villainous smile on his face.

They rushed out of the class, nearly barreling into Bakugo, who was waiting by the door. “Apologies. We have a meeting we must attend, you should probably head home, it may take a while.”

His anger faded to understanding, then indifference. “Whatever. See ya Hime-chan.”

She speed walked her way to the meeting hall, messaging Oba-san of her predicament on the way. Somehow they managed to get there on time. Momo was very glad she’d had the forethought to memorise the school’s layout. The hall was just as big as she remembered, but now it was bustling with life. There were two representatives per class, eleven classes per year, and three years of students. That made for sixty-six class representatives, taking up the bottom rows of the auditorium.

Momo scanned the seats for their place cards. She noticed the desks were organised by class, going A to K, then by year group, first years on the bottom row, sophomores on the second row and seniors on the third row. That meant they were seated closest to the exit, next to a girl with the orange hair.

“Hello, I’m Yaoyorozu Momo, it’s nice to meet you.” She offered a hand to the girl sitting next to her. “I’m the vice president of Class 1A.”

She took the hand, shaking it with surprising strength and an unsurprising smile. “Kendo Itsuka, and I’m president of Class 1B. It’s nice to meet a hero student from the other class.” She pointed her thumb behind her back to point to a grey haired boy. Was that? “And this is…”

“Honenuki Juzo.” Momo interrupted, excited to see someone she knew. “I haven’t seen you in ages!”

Honenuki looked at her with a shocked expression. “Wow Momo, you’ve definitely… grown. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Indeed it is!” As they spoke, Midoriya had taken her seat. Momo could tell because the spaces between the chair and desk were far too small for Midoriya’s tentacles, so they were pushed against her legs. They were nice and cool on her skin, both smooth and hard.

“So what's your name?” Kendo asked Midoriya. 

“She’s Midoriya Izumi, our class president.” Momo explained. Kendo looked at her strangely. “Oh, she’s also mute.” Kendo nodded in understanding.

“Nice to meet you anyway.”

They settled into silence, waiting for Principal Nedzu to arrive.

“Hey Momo, I heard you guys had a major accident yesterday. What happened?” Her head snapped to the side.  _ Why did he mention that? _ She could feel Midoriya’s tentacles wrap tightly around her leg, suction cups gripping hard.

“Yes.” She replied curtly. “Don’t mention it again.” She tried to search his face for any sign of malice, but she only caught curiosity and confusion. 

He quickly put his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, Sorry. Touchy topic, I see.”

The actual meeting was relatively boring. There were many speakers talking about leadership and similar topics. Nedzu made an excessively long speech about their duties and the years coming up. It was dry, but informative, so Momo dutifully wrote it down for future memorisation. They were to meet in smaller groups at different points throughout the week, either split up by year group, department, or both. They would organise matters of import in larger meetings with the student council and the teachers. It was very organised and bureaucratic.

Before she knew it, the meeting was done. She stood up and stretched, it felt like she had been sitting for hours. A quick check of her watch, followed by a look outside as she exited, told her it had been. Six o’clock! 

As she held out her phone in shock, it started to buzz.

A message from  ~Midoriya’s Brother – Contact Only When Necessary~ popped up on her screen.

_ [It’s late out, so I don’t want Hime-chan to go home on the trains all alone.] _

_ [That means you will be taking her home.] _

That was… blunt.

_ [You’ve got that fancy limousine and the scary bodyguard lady. She’ll definitely be safe with you.] _

_ [Make sure to get her something to eat, we’ve already eaten dinner.] _

_ [Mom says to bring her back before 10.] _

And then the flood of texts stopped.

What?

She guessed that made sense, he was asking her to look after his sister. She thought of her schedule, what she’d be doing tonight. Study, alone, with only the comforting presence of Oba-san. Eating many people's worth of dinner, alone, on her large empty table. Reading a book, curled up on a chair, alone, imagining worlds she would never experience.

Or she could be having dinner with her friend.

She sent a reply back.

_ [That sounds acceptable.] _

She waited for a reply.

_ [Good.] _

_ [If she comes back damaged I will fucking murder you.] _

Momo sighed at the profane language. But it couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

“Midoriya, it appears I will be taking you home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the date is set up.
> 
> FINALLY FLUFF AND ROMANCE.
> 
> Sorry I took so long, I had like 3 assignments due on the same date so that was stressy as fuck. Whats annoying is I had like half of this chapter just there, waiting to be finished, but it didn't conclude right, so I had to wait to post.
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to friend and generally awesome person Currently Lee, who gave me the chapter title. You may remember them as the person who gave me that awesome fanart.
> 
> Just wanna thank Beta Readers: MsL, Yume, Roy, Ataru and Golden Gecko
> 
> Here is a discord I have adopted, which the equivalent of an author's discord. It's actually Golden Gecko's, but I'm there often. https://discord.gg/9JkK4ry
> 
> Please comment and give me any criticism you have!
> 
> Next chapter will be Walking Corpse, then I may start another new fic, which will be fun. So new chapter either in 2 or 3 weeks. I'm trying to make my life more structured, so I may end up more productive.


	7. Mr Blue Sky

“So this is the Midoriya Izumi I’ve been hearing so much about.” Oba-san’s eyes looked over the girl in a quick yet thorough motion. Momo was barely able to catch her maid’s slight linger on the muzzle, but only because she had grown up around the woman. Oba-san was sitting across from Momo and Izumi in her limousine, absentmindedly working on her laptop as she talked. They were on their way from UA to a restaurant Momo had occasionally visited, _La Mer Triste_. “From what Yaoyorozu-sama has told me, you are mute, but not deaf, correct?”

Izumi just nodded, sitting incredibly still in her seat. 

They lapsed into silence, which let Momo study the girl besides her. For some reason she was tense. Izumi was almost curled in on herself, trying to take up as little area as possible. That confused Momo. While she had always thought that the limousine’s inside seemed smaller than the exterior, there was still plenty of space in the vehicle.

Momo tapped on her friend’s shoulder, making her startle. “You know,” she whispered, “despite her appearance, Oba-san is actually really nice.”

Izumi turned back to face the maid, frowned, then turned back to Momo, with the most incredulous look on her face. _ <Are you sure?> _

Momo couldn’t help herself, despite her extensive etiquette lessons, she broke into a giggling fit. That face was just too perfect. She could see Oba-san raise a single eyebrow, but otherwise stayed in place. Once she had regained composure, she answered her friend. “ _Yes, I am sure._ Just ask her a question, I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to answer.”

_ <If you say so…> _

Izumi pulled out her pad, then stared at it. Momo gave her a nudge and a smile. Then she perked up, and began rapidly scribbling down a question.

_[What is your qui-]_

Before she could finish writing, she was interrupted by Oba-san’s flat voice.

“Midoriya-san, there is no need to use up your paper like that, I have a passing knowledge in sign language.”

Once more, Izumi’s face lit up. Her pen dropped to her lap, forgotten, as her hands immediately started to move.

_< You too?>_

The showing elicited a reserved smile from Oba-san’s mouth, a warm, yet distanced expression. “Why yes. After all, Yaoyorozu-sama asked to be taught it and I _am_ her primary tutor. So I am learning it with her, though I do learn languages quite fast.It’s honestly surprising I hadn’t thought to do so earlier. Having a silent language can be quite useful in stealth scenarios, not to mention secret conversations. For that, I thank you.”

Izumi blushed at the comment, but that didn’t stop her from getting another pad and jotting down what was said. Though it was more of a notebook than a pad.

“Oh?” Oba-san said, absently peering down at the paper. “Taking notes on heroics? How studious of you.”

_ <Why… yes. It’s something of a… hobby.> _

“That’s a good habit to have. Knowing your enemy is half the battle, as they say.” She paused. “According to what Yaoyorozu-sama has told me, you have an animal transformation quirk, correct? With changer elements?”

Nervously, Izumi nodded.

“That’s quite the quirk, I may add. What types of creatures can you gain aspects of?”

And as simply as that, Izumi began signing at length on her quirk, fueled by Oba-san’s questions. From the angle she was at, it was tough to decipher the conversation, especially considering the speed and Momo’s limited vocabulary. 

Instead of trying to understand the discussion, she just watched them speak. It was nice to finally be able to have someone else sitting next to her. 

She was just so, _cute!_

Those sparkling exotic eyes, the constantly shifting colour of her skin, the way her tentacles curled and uncurled around random things.

It made Momo want to pinch Izumi’s cheeks and protect her forever.

Before she knew it, they arrived at their destination.

 _La Mer Triste_ was a beautiful structure, right in front of the sea. It stood alone, separated from the other nearby buildings not only by physical distance, but also its distinct gothic architecture. As its name and location implied, it specialised in using local seafood to create gourmet meals.

Momo felt a tug on her shoulder, then turned to see a nervous looking Izumi. _< Are you _**_sure_** _this is the right place? >_

“What do you mean? You like seafood don’t you?” Worry leaked into Momo’s mind. What if she had chosen wrong? What if her poor restaurant choice led to their relationship tearing apart? Was she offended?

_ <But this place… It’s really expensive.> _

“Oh.. Um, don’t worry about that, this is nothing. Just a treat for a friend.”

_ <If you’re sure…> _

“I am,” Momo said, with renewed confidence. She stepped out of the limousine, followed by Izumi. She turned back to see Oba-san, looking incredibly serious, as she usually did whenever she had to leave Momo.

“Now, remember, _I will be right here._ If anyone, and I mean _anyone,”_ she looked meaningfully towards Izumi, ”is causing a problem, _call me._ ” 

“Yes I know, don’t you worry. You worry enough as it is, we’ll be fine.”

Her demeanor softened. “If you say so Yaoyorozu-sama. I hope the two of you have a pleasant evening.”

As soon as they entered the building, they were greeted by a man dressed in a sharp tuxedo. He nodded toward Momo and bowed grandly, then gestured wordlessly that they follow him, before leading them towards the hallway. Izumi seemed momentarily confused, so Momo gave her friend a smile and beckoned her to follow

Unlike other establishments, _La Mer Triste_ didn’t use the open style layout, where tables were spread about a large open room, instead using private rooms. The room they entered was a relatively small one, with space for only six people. In the middle of the room was a table, a fine wooden piece, surrounded by the plush seats that lined the walls. As expected from the name, the interior was light blue, accented with darker blues, the brown of the wood, and white. However, the most eye catching design element was the glass wall. Through the large window you could see the sea in all it’s majestic glory.

“Please make yourself comfortable _mesdemoiselles_ ,” the maitre d’ said, with a slight French accent. “Feel free to summon me whenever you are ready to order.” With a quick, yet crisp bow, he exited the room, closing the door on the way out.

“So!” Momo said, chipperly, turning towards her friend. “Where do you want to sit?”

The words seemed to shock Izumi into motion. She looked around the room, presumably debating which seat to take, before her eyes caught the on the glass window. Those strange yet alluring eyes, bent and twisted like a cuttlefish, widened, locked onto the pounding blue waves.

Momo smiled, before sitting herself down on the far wall, on the seat directly under the window. In response, Izumi sat down directly opposite to her, in front of the sea.

“Isn’t this such a lovely place? The view alone is worth the price, don’t you think?”

_ <It is rather pretty.> _

Momo grabbed one of the two menus, beautifully bound and full with a wide variety of dishes. She flipped through the pages, more as an act than anything. She had already decided most of what she would get, but was giving Izumi time to think.

“Does anything pique your interest?” Momo asked, in what she hoped was a blasé tone.

 _ <They’re…. They’re…> _ Izumi kept repeating the same sign over and over again, between unintelligible hand movements. Momo placed her menu down, then grasped Izumi’s hands, squeezing lightly, smiling at her friend. Izumi appeared to breathe in, from what Momo could tell from under the muzzle, stilling her hands. _ <All so _ **_expensive_ ** _. The cheapest thing here costs more than most place’s signature meals! > _

Momo chuckled slightly. “You don’t have to worry about such things, I’m more than happy to pay the price for a good dinner for you.”

 _ <Maybe the ???????> _she signed, cautiously, but with more confidence.

“What was that last word? I don’t know that one?”

Izumi put her menu down, before turning it around to face Momo and pointing at one of the dishes. To Momo’s joy, she noted the dish was one of the higher costing ones, not the most expensive, but above the average

“Lobster?”

She nodded.

“Any drinks?”

_ <?????> _

The signs Izumi made were completely unintelligible, causing Momo to blush. _She hadn’t even completed learning food, let alone drinks._ “Um… you’ll have to the point that one out too…”

Iced green tea.

_So simple…_

Momo pressed the button on the wall, which summoned the maitre d’ to the door, mere seconds later. She ordered their meal, and then the maitre d’ vanished as swiftly as he had appeared.

“So….”

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, not that Momo had expected Izumi to speak. But even disregarding the lack of noise, it felt too still. The only movements from Izumi were nervous little gestures, which Momo was rather sure weren’t signs. Momo herself had to build up courage to continue a conversation.

Yet her timing was off, the moment she tried to rekindle the conversation, there was a polite knock at the door. It had only been a few minutes since they had ordered, yet most five star restaurants had at least one cooking quirk user in their retinue. 

Momo sighed, before pressing the button once more. The maitre d’ entered through the doorway, with a serving trolley following behind him, pushed by an unseen force. With naught a word or gesture, the plates floated off the trolley, placing the food and drink in front of the two girls.

“Anything else, _mesdemoiselles_ _?”_

Momo shook her head and politely dismissed the servant, leaving her and Izumi alone.

She began to eat, enjoying the familiar taste of the seafood. Oba-san had been brought up by the sea, so Momo had been raised on the dishes from her childhood. It was unfortunate that Izumi was unable to speak, as it hampered mealtime conversation somewhat, with Izumi’s hands being preoccupied with using utensils. Come to think of it…

“Izumi, is your meal pleasant?” 

As Momo asked her question, she looked up towards Izumi, only to find her sitting with hands flat on the table, her meal untouched. 

“Aren’t you hungry? From what I’ve seen, you haven’t eaten all day. You really should eat _something_.” 

Izumi shook her head. _ <I’m sorry for wasting your money, I got caught up in the moment.> _

“Caught in the moment? What do you mean?” Concern was leaking into Momo’s words and body, infecting her proper ladylike posture.

_ <I can’t eat with my ????? on, and it’s too dangerous to take off. If I do so, I may make a sound, which could harm you and the people around us. My voice can travel rather far…> _

The disappointment in Izumi’s posture broke Momo’s heart, yet there was one thing giving her hope.

“The rooms are soundproofed, you know,” Momo gently told Izumi, “these rooms were made to give well paying clients complete and utter privacy. They use the most technologically advanced quirk derived technology.” She smiled at her friend. “That means that you are free to scream at the top of your lungs, and no one will hear you. Everyone will be safe.”

_ <But… What about you?> _

“I trust you Izumi. I know that in your hands, nothing bad will happen to me.”

_ <But.. After what I did to Jirou…> _

“I’ll be fine,” Momo said, using all the poise she could muster to place her utter certainty into her voice. 

_ <You’re sure?> _

_“Yes.”_

Slowly, she brought her hands up to her face, resting them on the bulky metal above her mouth. Izumi looked into Momo’s eyes, then started timidly undoing the straps. As she went, her movements became more confident, practically tearing the leather off. Within seconds the muzzle that had remained on her face for the entire day was torn off and placed on the seat.

Finally, Momo could see her friend smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, after months of stalling, the next chapter is out...
> 
> Sorry 'bout that. I tend to get writer's block whenever I try to write emotional stuff like romance and it wasn't clicking. Thankfully, now that it's over, the next chapters should come easier. Though because of my schedule, and real life shit, that prolly won't happen until mid to late next month, because yay exams.
> 
> I'd like to thank my wonderful Beta Readers: Ataru, Roy, Yume and Lee. Please make sure to have a looksey at [Roy's stuff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foggydaysahead/pseuds/Foggydaysahead), they recently started doing these snips which are neat, as well as a really neat fic about Izuku being cursed and blessed by a goddess to be like a gorgon.
> 
> I has a discord (Link https://discord.gg/qcHPPHK) so join and see my shitty attempts at art!
> 
> Lastly, what did you think of the chapter? Finally had a not date, though I feel it may be a bit short. Do you think I should extend it, or continue the story?


	8. Lone Digger

Momo had never been on a field trip before.This was mainly due to her being privately tutored for the majority of her life. While Oba-san had, on occasion, brought her to specialised facilities to conduct certain parts of her tutelage, Momo doubted those experiences were analogous to a proper school field trip. In popular media, field trips were the highlight of a student’s term, where they could learn new things in new environments, even doing fantastical things, such as exploring the inside of a human body or destroying substitute teachers. That was why Momo was so excited when Aizawa-sensei announced they were going to go out for rescue training.

Momo was just buzzing with anticipation, thinking of all the interesting ways she could apply her quirk in such a scenario. She looked down at her personal database, revising and memorising the structures of anything that seemed plausibly useful. Flame retardant blankets, megaphones, fire extinguishers, personal floatation devices, flares, jaws of life, hydraulic lifts, and so much more. As sad as she was to admit it, Oba-san had been wise when she had turned down Momo’s original concept for the database. She had foolishly wanted a large encyclopedia filled with chemical and mechanical diagrams of useful objects, named the Yaoyorictionary. Oba-san had been brutal in her denial of the idea, calling it too impractical and the name too immature. Her recommendation of connecting her phone, with its multi-terabyte hard drive, ability to send emergency signals and small size was in hindsight the far superior options, as with most things Oba-san said.

Momo’s train of thought was disrupted by the sound of someone speaking. For the most part she had been tuning out the general chatter of the bus, but the mention of Izumi allowed her to focus on the nearly toneless Asui Tsuyu.

“So Midoriya-chan, I tend to speak my mind, and I was wondering, where do you get all your muzzles? The one you’re wearing today is very different to the one from yesterday.”

Momo had been disappointed to find Izumi still wearing a muzzle that morning, though it was a marked improvement from the prior day. Rather than looking like a sort of cruel and unusual form of torture device, the new muzzle looked like the type of cutesy facemask you may find on an average schoolgirl. The pink fabric and adorable cat face, combined with Izumi’s changing colours and large eyes, made Izumi look just  _ precious. _

Izumi began to sign, but Asui stopped her midway through. “I’m sorry Midoriya-chan,” she said, what may have been abashment tinging her voice. “I don’t know sign.” She turned towards Bakugo, with a look of trepidation. “I guess I’ll have to ask Bakugo to translate.”

Momo understood Asui’s hesitation. Bakugo was sitting next to Jirou, wearing a large pair of headphones. Jirou had one of her jacks plugged into a phone and the two of them were… staring angrily into space? Upon further inspection, she could tell their heads were oscillating back and forwards in synchrony, but she didn’t know what they were doing and definitely didn’t want to interrupt them. They were emitting a menacing aura, not quite as strong as Oba-san’s, but menacing nonetheless.

“I can do it!” Momo interrupted, before Asui could become a french delicacy. It was at this moment that she noticed that the bus had gone surprisingly silent, all of the chatter having vanished within hearing distance of Asui. “...I’ve been practicing”

Then Asui began signing, seemingly oblivious to the listeners.  _ {The Quirk Registry Association has a department for quirks dangerous to either the quirk user or for the people around them. If quirk training doesn’t solve the problem, they offer a mechanical solution. I’ve had one of these available since I was four years old. I’d bet Aoyama’s belt came from the same place.} _

“Do they normally come in pink?” Ashido asked, in her energetic way.

_ {No, actually this came from a private company that specialises in fashionable support gear for civilians.  _ **_Someone_ ** _ ,}  _ Izumi signed the word slowly and precisely, glaring in the vague direction of Bakugo,  _ {thought it would be funny to get me  _ **_this.}_ ** She waved her hands in front of her face, the strange mixture of glaring eyes and kawaii cat face, making Momo want to pinch Izumi’s cheeks.

“Bakugo?” Sero asked, surprised.

**_{Mom…}_ **

The gaggle of classmates gathered laughed at Izumi’s adorable expression

_ {But I’m sure that little gremlin had something to do with it.} _

Bakugo said nothing in response, but gestured towards Izumi a sign that Momo didn’t recognise and likely did not want to learn.

“I have another question, kero.” Asui said. “You and Gang Orca have similar quirks, are you rela-”

Asui was cut off.

_ Aggressively _

“HIME-CHAN IS NOTHING LIKE THAT PIECE OF SHIT, GOOD FOR NOTHING, MOTHER-”

Momo felt that Bakugo could have, and very much would have, gone on for quite a while longer, had Jirou not intervened. She grabbed his shoulder and yanked him down to his seat, her other hand placing his headphones back on his ears.

Once more, there was an intense silence.

Izumi frowned, her hands unmoving.

“...Anyway, your quirk is really cool and flashy.” Finally, Kirishima, bless his soul, spoke. He gestured with his arm, hardening it. “Mine’s kinda basic though.

Momo smiled as she saw Izumi’s entire demeanor shift, becoming more excitable, movements nearly too fast for her to keep up with. Slowly the cheerfulness returned, all awkwardness vanishing.

Except…

From the corner of her eye, Momo spotted Todoroki. She was stalwartly ignoring Hagakure’s attempts at conversation, choosing instead to glare directly into Momo’s skull.

That girl… She’s got some problems.

Well then, Momo thought defiantly,  _ I’m going to help her. _

***

“Coms aren’t working,” she heard Kaminari say, “they’ve got someone blocking it.”

Momo looked down to her communicator… 

_ No signal. _

Perfect, maybe they weren’t in as much trouble as they seemed.

_ She needed to tell Aizawa-sensei. _

Dark fog seeped into the square, forming a dark, yet humanoid shape.

_ She didn’t think, she  _ **_acted._ **

Molecules of fat shifted within her arm, forming a very familiar compound, before a familiar weight dropped into her hand.

_ Wait for it. _

Perfect.

Bakugo and Kirishima charged towards the enemy, an attack that wasn’t going to work, but that didn’t matter.

_ Distraction. _

She lobbed the canister into the air, a faint hiss escaping its confines, as well as a familiar red gas.

One of the first things Oba-san had taught her about quirked combat.

_ People who can phase through things, who can turn into gas… _

_ Are often weak to aerosols themself. _

A loud shriek of pain filled Momo’s ears.

**_Perfect!_ **

The villain exploded. Not in the way Bakugo did, or even the way flesh and blood did. A giant wave of black mist shot out of him, following his screams, and covering the entire class.

She was falling.

Fear wasn’t the emotion Momo felt upon this realisation, it hadn’t been her response when she saw hoards of villains appearing out of misty portals.

She felt excitement.

Excitement like when she was participating in the capture the flag exercise

Excitement like when she was competing against the best of the best in the recommendations exam.

Excitement like when Oba-san finally let her properly spar against her.

Momo knew she could handle this, she had trained her whole life for this, after all.

She grinned wickedly.

Time for some  **_fun!_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hihi, back.
> 
> Hope you like the chapter, even if it is a bit small.
> 
> Please leave a comment or something of your thoughts.
> 
> Thanks to my Beta Readers: Ataru and Yume Peyton
> 
> I has a discord (Link https://discord.gg/qcHPPHK) so join and see my shitty attempts at art!


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